NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Tuesday that the Centre’s ordinance on Delhi contradicting the Supreme Court verdict on transfers and postings of bureaucrats will be the first agenda item in the meeting of opposition parties due June 23 in Patna.
The Congress has not yet firmed up its stance on the ordinance. “I hope the Congress will make its stand clear. All the other political parties in that meeting would like to know the Congress strategy on the ordinance,” said Kejriwal. To lend a punch to his argument against the Centre, Kejriwal will also carry a copy of the Constitution to shed light on the implications of such an ordinance.
“The Central government has the authority to introduce similar ordinances on any subject within the Concurrent List. That’s why it is crucial for all opposition parties to come together and deliberate on the issue to ensure states’ autonomy,” he said.
In a press conference, Kejriwal pointed out that by promulgating such an ordinance, the Centre can end up “dissolving all the matters” that come within the Concurrent List of the Constitution. “Only because this has only been promulgated in Delhi, which is often considered a ‘half-state,’ it does not mean that it cannot be promulgated in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Maharashtra and elsewhere in the country,” he said.
Kejriwal’s remarks came after the first meeting of the NCCSA (National Capital Civil Services Authority). Kejriwal said the ordinance “places an excessive amount of power in the hands of bureaucrats over and above the ministers, the CM, and the Cabinet.”