BJP defends ordinance, says Delhi is a UT with special status

BJP leaders alleged that the AAP-led state government was trying to shield itself from the ongoing corruption cases by transferring the officials

Even as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) attempts to rally the support from Opposition parties to overturn the ordinance brought by the Centre against the Supreme Court judgment on control over services in Delhi, the six Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members of Parliament from Delhi on Sunday held a joint press conference to justify the Center’s move.

BJP leaders Manoj Tiwari, Meenakshi Lekhi, Harsh Vardhan, Parvesh Verma, Ramesh Bidhuri and Hans Raj Hans during the press conference on Sunday. (ANI)

The BJP MPs said that Delhi is a Union territory with a special status where the Center plays a crucial role. The leaders alleged that the AAP-led state government was trying to shield itself from the ongoing corruption cases by transferring the officials. BJP MPs including Meenakshi Lekhi from New Delhi, Manoj Tiwari from northeast Delhi, Ramesh Bidhuri from south Delhi, Parvesh Verma from west Delhi, Dr Harsh Vardhan from Chandni Chowk and Hans Raj Hans from northwest Delhi spoke about the matter.

Reacting to Arvind Kejriwal meeting his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar and the deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav on Sunday seeking solidarity to move against the ordinance which might turn into a Bill if passed in the Rajya Sabha, BJP MP from Chandni Chowk Dr Harsh Vardhan said that a trivial non-issue was being blown out of proportion by the elected government of Delhi.

“For almost 20 years, I have seen the workings of the Delhi assembly from the inside. We have seen four CMs and various LGs before the current dispensation. Over these 20 years, the same laws were operating and governments led to progress of the state. Not once have we seen such a breakdown of mutual respect,” he said.

He alleged that Anshu Prakash, former chief secretary of Delhi, was badly treated by AAP MLAs. “We heard that eight officers wrote to LG alleging ill-treatment by the AAP MLAs. And as to why the ordinance was brought, it was because as soon as the SC order came, the CM started transferring officers investigating the corruption cases. The Delhi government alleged that the chief secretary has threatened to kill the minister. This kind of behavior is unprecedented in Delhi,” he said.

He added that the chief minister himself will be the chairman of the new authority managing the transfer postings in Delhi. “If the behaviour of the CM is acceptable, how will a chief secretary disagree with him?” added Vardhan.

South Delhi MP and the leader of the Opposition in the Delhi assembly, Ramesh Bidhuri, said that more than 679 ordinances were brought unopposed between 1950 and 2014 and the current ordinance is not unprecedented.

“The members of the Rajya Sabha will think about what kind of people they want to be associated with. The Delhi CM is seeking support from the people whom he earlier used to call corrupt. The Supreme Court itself had said in the order that a law can be brought by the Parliament,” said Bidhuri.

West Delhi MP Parvesh Sahib Singh Varma echoed the sentiment and said that the government attempted to threaten bureaucrats and forced them to sign documents after the SC judgment. “Who can forget how AAP MLAs treated former chief secretary Anshu Prakash? The government is just afraid that the corruption allegations against them will turn out to be true,” said Varma.

In an official response to the press conference, the AAP, in a statement, said that the ordinance was unconstitutional and BJP MPs were misleading the public. “During the Sheila Dikshit government, the chief minister had the powers of transfer and posting. The moment AAP formed the government in 2015, these powers were taken away by a notification from central government. After eight years of struggle, the SC ruled that elected government has these powers but the powers have once again been snatched through an ordinance.”