Pawar pledges support to AAP on services ordinance

Sharad Pawar said he would reach out to other states to foster consensus among the Opposition parties, as he believes this issue transcends Delhi

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar pledged support to Delhi’s chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday in his efforts to challenge in Parliament the central government’s ordinance aimed at restricting the Delhi government’s administrative powers.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar in Mumbai on Thursday. (HT Photo)

Following a meeting with Kejriwal during his two-day visit to Mumbai, Pawar announced that leveraging his relationships with the country’s leaders, he would reach out to other states to foster consensus among the Opposition parties, as he believes this issue transcends Delhi.

“This should be viewed as an assault on parliamentary democracy. The question is, who will govern the state? The elected officials or those appointed will have the authority to take decisions? This is the time to fight to preserve democracy,” Pawar said.

The Union government on May 19 promulgated an ordinance, effectively nullifying a Supreme Court Constitution bench’s judgment shifting the authority of controlling bureaucrats in Delhi from the lieutenant governor (LG) to the Delhi government. The ordinance also provides for creating a National Capital Civil Service Authority and a Public Service Commission for transfers and postings of officers.

The ordinance makes the LG the final authority who can act in “sole discretion” in deciding the matters relating to transfers and postings.

Kejriwal is seeking the backing from all opposition parties against the ordinance.

“Tomorrow, I plan to request a meeting with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi to discuss this matter,” he said.

On the final day of his visit to Mumbai, Kejriwal met with Pawar and other senior NCP leaders at the YB Chavan Centre. Senior NCP leaders such as Ajit Pawar, Chhagan Bhujbal, Sunil Tatkare, and Dilip Walse-Patil welcomed the AAP delegation at the YB Chavan Centre.

The previous day, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray at Matoshree had pledged his support to Kejriwal.

“This is a national issue. Pawar saheb is one of the most respected leaders in the country, and I have asked him to help build consensus among the parties,” Kejriwal said.

“If the bill fails in the Rajya Sabha, where no party holds a majority, it could be viewed as a semi-final round for the 2024 general elections.” He insisted that the bill will not pass if all non-BJP parties unite.

Pawar, drawing on his 56 years of experience in parliamentary democracy, said that he had established personal relationships with most national leaders.

“If an attack is launched against a government elected by the people, it must be defended. Therefore, I’ll take on the responsibility of travelling to other states to seek their support for this cause,” Pawar told Kejriwal.

Kejriwal criticised the ruling BJP for allegedly attempting to undermine elected governments in several states, including Maharashtra and Delhi, through various methods.

He said, “When the people of a state elect a non-BJP government, the BJP-led central government retaliates in three stages. Initially, they attempt to lure MLAs to topple the government. Secondly, they intimidate MLAs to fracture the ruling parties and collapse the government. Finally, when they fail to ‘buy’ or ‘break’ MLAs, they issue an ordinance to strip them of their powers.”

Kejriwal was accompanied by several AAP members, including Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chaddha and Delhi education minister Atishi.

Mann remarked that while India is hailed as the world’s largest democracy, “democracy is being eroded every day in various ways.”

The Delhi BJP did not respond to repeated requests for comment.