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KCR's ‘maafi ka saudagar’ taunt at Modi; demands withdrawal of Delhi ordinance
Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann met KCR in Hyderabad seeking support over the Delhi government's fight against the Centre’s ordinance.
Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Saturday urged Narendra Modi-led union government to withdraw the ordinance related to the control of administrative services in the national capital. Flanked by Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann, KCR asserted at a press briefing that opposition parties will fight unitedly against the ordinance. Comparing the Modi regime with the days of the emergency, the chief minister alleged that the central government is not allowing a “popular government” to function.
"We demand the Prime Minister to withdraw the ordinance yourself or else we all will support Kejriwal Ji. We will stand by him. We will use all our strength in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to defeat the ordinance. Unnecessarily don’t make an issue. Let the government work," Rao told the NDA government at the Centre.
Referring to the recent electoral defeat of the BJP in the Karnataka assembly elections, KCR said the people across the country will teach them a similar lesson if they don't take back the ordinance.
“That's why we are requesting you, withdraw on your own.”
Taking a swipe at the Modi government, he added, “Like you withdrew farm bills, land acquisition bill...aap toh maafi ka saudagar ho(you are the merchant of apologies)...that's why it's better you withdraw it on your own.”
“We are your contemporaries in politics so we are advising you that it's neither good for the democracy nor for you Modi ji,” the chief minister said.
The central government recently promulgated an ordinance to create an authority for the transfer and posting of Group-A officers in Delhi. The ordinance, which came a week after the Supreme Court handed over the control of services in Delhi excluding police, public order and land to the elected government, seeks to set up a National Capital Civil Service Authority for transfer of and disciplinary proceedings against Group-A officers from the DANICS cadre.
Kejriwal has been seeking the support of opposition parties to defeat the bill in Rajya Sabha. Several regional satraps, including West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray have announced their support for Kejriwal in his fight against the Centre.
