New Delhi: After some uncertainty regarding its position, the Congress has come out publicly on Sunday (July 16) saying that it will not support the contentious Delhi ordinance on control of services in parliament. Hours after this statement, the Aam Aadmi Party said it would attend the second joint opposition meeting in Bengaluru slated for Monday and Tuesday.
Earlier, AAP had said that it would join the meeting unless the Congress promised to oppose the Bill.
“I think they (AAP) are going to join the meeting tomorrow. As for the ordinance (on control of services in Delhi), our stand is very clear. We are not going to support it,” Congress general secretary K.C .Venugopal told PTI on Sunday. “Not only the Delhi ordinance, any attempt to sabotage federalism in the country, to intervene in matters of states through Governors, we are not going to support. Same way, Delhi ordinance also, we are not going to support,” he continued.
VIDEO | “I think they (AAP) are going to join the meeting tomorrow. As for the ordinance (on control of services in Delhi), our stand is very clear. We are not going to support it,” says Congress general secretary KC Venugopal on the opposition meet, scheduled to be held in… pic.twitter.com/YdeUZYmPG5
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 16, 2023
AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha said the Congress’s decision to announce its stand on the ordinance is a “positive development”.
Congress announces its unequivocal opposition to the Delhi Ordinance. This is a positive development.
— Raghav Chadha (@raghav_chadha) July 16, 2023
AAP’s Political Affairs Committee met at 4 pm to discuss the issue. After that, the party announced that it will be attending the opposition meeting.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will take part in the joint opposition meeting in Bengaluru: AAP MP Raghav Chadha pic.twitter.com/jbhzw5ilHo
— ANI (@ANI) July 16, 2023
Earlier, AAP had been adamant that the Congress must speak out against the ordinance publicly if it wants to create a joint opposition involving AAP. “The party has already communicated to [the] Congress that they must follow through on their assurance made to all parties during the Patna meeting that [the] Congress will be taking a position against the Ordinance 15 days before the start of the parliament session,” AAP spokesperson Akshay Marathe had told The Wire.
After the previous opposition meeting in Patna, with Arvind Kejriwal had attended, AAP put out a statement questioning the Congress’s silence on the ordinance issue.
The monsoon session of parliament, where a Bill on the Delhi ordinance will come up for discussion, is slated to begin on July 20. The Centre brought the Ordinance on May 19 to curtail the powers of Delhi’s elected government. The Ordinance was promulgated days after the Supreme Court handed over control of services in Delhi to the elected government, excluding those related to police, public order, and land.