Ahead of the Opposition parties' meeting slated to be held in Patna on June 23 to formulate a strategy to fight Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) in Lok Sabha election 2024, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal put forth a rider seeking discussion on Centre's ordinance on official transfer power in the national capital.
The AAP national convenor wrote a letter to opposition parties seeking discussion on the Centre's ordinance on the control of administrative services in the national capital at Patna meeting.
He asserted the ordinance is a just experiment and if Centre succeeds implementing it in Delhi, it will bring similar ordinances for other non-BJP states.
Patna Opposition meet
The meeting was called by Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar in an effort to unite Opposition parties.
Kejriwal stressed the first thing to be discussed in the meeting should revolve around defeating the bill related to the Centre's ordinance in the Rajya Sabha.
"The Centre has carried out an experiment in Delhi by bringing this ordinance. If it is successful, it will bring similar ordinances in non-BJP states and snatch away the powers of states with respect to subjects in the concurrent list," he said in the letter dated June 20.
Kejriwal also said that the "day is not far when the prime minister will run 33 states through lieutenant governors and governors".
The Centre had on May 19 promulgated an ordinance to create an authority for the transfer and posting of Group-A officers in Delhi, with the AAP government calling the move a deception with the Supreme Court verdict on control of services.
The ordinance, which comes a week after the Supreme Court handed over the control of services in Delhi, excluding police, public order and land, to the elected government, seeks to set up a National Capital Civil Service Authority for the transfer of and disciplinary proceedings against Group-A officers from the DANICS cadre.
Transfer and postings of all officers of the Delhi government were under the executive control of the lieutenant governor before the May 11 verdict of the apex court.
Following the ordinance, Kejriwal has been reaching out to leaders of non-BJP parties to garner their support against the ordinance so that the Centre's bid to replace it through a Bill is defeated when it is brought in Parliament.
(With PTI inputs)
