'Will talk to other leaders for support on ordinance row': Sharad Pawar assures Arvind Kejriwal
After meeting Kejriwal, Pawar said that he will visit other states to bring a consensus among the Opposition on the issue as the matter is not limited to Delhi.
Mumbai: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar on Thursday assured Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal all the help in his campaign to defeat, in Rajya Sabha, the Centre’s ordinance that seeks to curb the administrative powers of the Delhi government.
After meeting Kejriwal, who is on a two-day visit to the city, Pawar said that as he has personal relations with most of the leaders in the country, he will visit other states and meet them to bring a consensus among the Opposition parties on the issue as the matter is not limited to Delhi.
“It should be seen as an attack on parliamentary democracy,” Pawar said adding, “Who will run the state? The elected government or those selected will get the powers to take decisions. This is the time to fight to save democracy.”
Kejriwal, who is seeking support from all the Opposition parties against the ordinance, will next meet Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi.
Kejriwal met Pawar and other senior NCP leaders at YB Chavan Centre on the concluding day of visit to the city. On Wednesday, he was assured of support on the issue by Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray at Matoshree.
“Tomorrow I would be seeking time to meet Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi on the issue,” Kejriwal said.
The AAP leader insisted that the ordinance promulgated by the central government should not be seen as a matter related to just the Delhi government. “It is a matter of the country. Pawar sahab is one of the tallest leaders in the country and I have requested him to help in bringing consensus among parties,” said Kejriwal.
“Since no party has a majority in Rajya Sabha and if the bill is defeated in the Upper House, then it should be seen as a semi-final for the 2024 general polls,” said Kejriwal and emphasised that the bill will not be passed in Rajya Sabha if all the non-BJP parties come together.
Pawar said he has 56 years of experience in parliamentary democracy and as a result he has worked with most of the leaders in the country.
“I have personal relations with most of the leaders. If a government elected by the people is under attack, then it should be saved. Hence, I will take the responsibility of going to other states and seeking their help for the cause,” Pawar assured Kejriwal.
Read: On ordinance row, BJP says Kejriwal didn't read Supreme Court verdict
Kejriwal slammed the ruling BJP for conspiring to bring down the elected government in many states including Maharashtra and Delhi through various means.
“If people of a state elect a non-BJP government, then the BJP-led central government attacks them by taking three steps. In the beginning, they will try to poach MLAs and bring down the government. Second, they threaten MLAs to break the ruling parties and collapse the government.
“When they fail to buy (MLAs) or break them, they issue an ordinance and take all their powers,” said Kejriwal.
Read: ‘Modiji has become arrogant’: Sisodia's dig over ordinance on services in Delhi
He was accompanied by Bhagwant Mann, Punjab chief minister, Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chaddha, MPS, Atishi, Delhi education minister, among others.
The AAP delegation was welcomed by senior NCP leaders such as Ajit Pawar, Chhagan Bhujbal, Sunil Tatkare and Dilip Walse Patil inside YB Chavan Centre premises.
Mann said that the country is called the biggest democracy. “But from inside, democracy is getting murdered every day in many ways.”
