After Mamata, Uddhav agrees to extend support to Kejriwal against Centre’s ordinance

Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray met Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal in Mumbai on Wednesday and assured him of support against the Centre’s ordinance on the control of services in the national Capital.

“Our party extends support to Arvind Kejriwal. We are people who are known to retain friendships. The battle is not about politics or Opposition parties coming together for elections. It is the battle to save the Indian Constitution and democracy,” Uddhav said after the meeting at Matoshree, his residence in Bandra.

Kejriwal, who was accompanied by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP leader Raghav Chadha among others, is meeting Opposition party leaders across the country to drum up support against the ordinance. On Tuesday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee extended support to Kejriwal, saying the Trinamool Congress will oppose the ordinance in Parliament.

Kejriwal said that Uddhav Thackeray has extended support to AAP and they have decided to oppose the Centre’s ordinance in Rajya Sabha. “We thank them profusely for according a warm welcome to us. We should see it as a semi-final. If the Centre’s ordinance is defeated in Rajya Sabha, it will be a sure indication that the Modi government will not return to power in the 2024 polls. They have been systematically undermining our powers,” Kejriwal said.

“We challenged them in the Supreme Court. The verdict was in the Delhi government’s favour. So, BJP brought an ordinance within eight days… thereby indicating they do not accept the SC verdict. The battle is not restricted to the Delhi government. It is a threat to federalism. They are undermining elected governments,” Kejriwal added.

By bringing in the ordinance, the BJP has sent across “a clear message that they will not abide by the Supreme Court’s verdict. They neither believe in democracy nor the apex court”, Kejriwal said.

Kejriwal, who is on a two-day visit to Mumbai, will also be meeting Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar on Thursday.

Meanwhile, a day after Congress’ Ajay Maken strongly opposed extending any support to Kejriwal on the issue, senior AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj said the Central government can also bring the ordinance on control of Services in Karnataka and other states in the future.

Speaking to the reporters in Delhi, Bharadwaj said: “Ajay Maken has been rejoicing over their Karnataka victory but he should remember that the Centre can bring a similar ordinance in Karnataka tomorrow and take away the powers of police there. What will they do then? The Congress has become alive after we raised this issue of ordinance, else who knows Ajay Maken here?”

Reacting to the AAP leader’s statement, Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit said the Centre cannot bring a similar ordinance in other states and that state government laws and powers have been “clearly defined by the Constitution.” “This ordinance relates to the area where there is a difference in opinion. Delhi is a Union Territory and its powers can be granted or taken away by Parliament. He (Saurabh Bhardwaj) is talking about our state government, he should know that state government laws and powers are clearly defined by the Constitution.”