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AAP gets Congress's invite for Bengaluru meet. Delhi ordinance still a sticking point
AAP leaders attended the opposition meeting in Patna but struck a discordant note later over Congress's stance on a controversial ordinance.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has received an invite from Congress to attend the second meeting of like-minded opposition parties scheduled in Bengaluru, party leader Raghav Chadha said on Friday. The Rajya Sabha member, however, said that any further discussion on opposition unity ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election will happen only when Congress formally clears its stand on the Delhi ordinance issue.
The Centre's ordinance to wrest control from the Delhi government on transfers and postings of officers working in departments has become a sticking point between AAP and Congress in efforts to jointly take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and forge a common agenda.
In the first crucial meeting of opposition parties in Patna, AAP struck a discordant note saying it will be difficult for the party to attend future meetings if the Congress didn’t make its stance clear on a controversial ordinance.
“Congress party has sent an invitation to AAP (for opposition meet in Bengaluru), however, during the Patna opposition meet, in front of all like-minded parties, the Congress party had said that they will clear their stand on the Delhi ordinance, 15 days prior to commencement of the Parliament monsoon session,” Chadha told ANI.
“We're hoping they will do that soon and all further conversation will only happen after their formal announcement,” he added.
AAP spokesperson Sandeep Pathak stressed the importance of opposition unity to take on the Narendra Modi-led BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and expressed hope that the Bengaluru meeting will be fruitful.
"This time the country needs all opposition parties to unite to stop the Modi government (from coming to power again in 2024)," he told PTI.
The Supreme Court, meanwhile, has agreed to hear on Monday the petition filed by the Delhi government challenging the validity of the recent Ordinance promulgated by the Centre.
