'Should Realise His Mistake': Delhi Congress Chief On Kejriwal Seeking Support On Ordinance Row

When asked if Congress would support CM Arvind Kejriwa's fight against the Centre on ordinance row, Delhi Congress President Anil Chaudhary said that Kejriwal must 'realise his mistake'.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is reaching out to opposition parties and leaders to gather support to defeat the Centre's ordinance on control of services in the national capital in Rajya Sabha. However, his effort may see a hit as Delhi Congress President ANI Chaudhary said that Kejriwal should realise his mistake as he kept praising the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) when the opposition was together. Chaudhary made the remarks when asked if top Congress leaders will meet the Delhi CM.

He said, "Congress high command will take a decision on whether they will meet Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal or not. When all opposition parties were together, he kept praising BJP, Arvind Kejriwal should realise his mistake."

This comes after CM Arvind Kejriwal sought a meeting with Rahul Gandhi for the support of the Congress in the Delhi government's fight with the Centre on the ordinance passed by the Centre to overturn the SC verdict. 

"Sought time this morning to meet Cong President Sh Kharge ji and Sh Rahul Gandhi ji to seek Cong support in Parl against undemocratic n unconstitutional ordinance passed by BJP govt and also to discuss general assault on federal structure and prevailing political situation," Kejriwal tweeted.

Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday urged the non-BJP parties to unite and defeat in the Rajya Sabha the bill related to the Centre's ordinance on control of services in the national capital. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor was addressing a press conference after meeting Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, who assured to support the former in his party's fight against the ordinance.

Earlier, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray assured their support to Kejriwal in this matter. "If all non-BJP parties unite, the bill can be defeated in the Rajya Sabha as no party enjoys a majority in the Upper House of Parliament," Kejriwal said.

"The ordinance has affected the federal structure of the country. Elected governments not being allowed to work by using ordinances is not good for the country," he added.

Pawar, who was present at the press conference, said the right of elected governments to govern needs to be protected and said all non-BJP parties should support the AAP in this matter. "Kejriwal should also meet all non-BJP parties to convince them. It is our responsibility to persuade everyone - be it Congress or Biju Janata Dal (BJD)," he suggested.

Describing national interest as a matter of priority, the former Union minister called for the need to have a dialogue between all non-BJP parties to provide a stable and progressive government when the time comes. Parliamentary democracy needs to be saved, Pawar said, adding that the NCP will support the AAP in this matter.