Telangana Chief Minister and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) chief K Chandrashekhar Rao on Saturday extended his support to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in its fight against the centre’s ordinance.
Delhi Chief Minister and AAP National Convenor, Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister of Punjab, Bhagwant Singh Mann and other AAP leaders reached Hyderabad today to meet K Chandrashekhar Rao. The three Chief Ministers addressed a joint press conference at Pragati Bhavan, Hyderabad.
Addressing the media, Telangana CM said, “We demand the Prime Minister to withdraw the ordinance. We will all support Arvind Kejriwal and stand by him. We will use all the power to defeat the ordinance in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The central government should open their eyes and withdraw the ordinance without making an issue. Let the governments work.”
He further alleged that the Modi government insulted the people of Delhi. “I can say without an iota of doubt that the Modi government has insulted the people of Delhi. The Delhi government has been mandated by the people of the state. The people of Delhi will teach a lesson to the Modi government.”
“The centre is creating troubles and not letting the non-BJP governments in the states function. In Delhi, we saw 2 incidents recently. The Aam Aadmi party is a very popular party in Delhi. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) under the leadership of Arvind Kejriwal emerged from a social movement and won three times in the Delhi elections. However, we saw a rare incident in Delhi that was never seen before. The AAP won the Municipal elections in Delhi by defeating BJP recently. They(BJP) did not allow the mayor to take an oath even after winning the elections. Finally, AAP had to go to the Supreme Court”, KCR said.
He added that AAP has formed governments in Delhi by large majority three times. “However, an LG was placed and the government was pressurized. With no other option left, the Delhi government reached Supreme Court. The SC’s larger bench gave clear directions that all the officers should work under the elected government and not in the hands of the Governor. However, without implementing the verdict, an Ordinance was brought.”
“As and when there is something wrong, the country reacts. You(BJP) are on the same path of emergency as in Indira Gandhi’s rule. During that period, Allahabad High Court had passed an order but it was nullified by a Constitution amendment followed by an emergency. What is the difference now?”, he asked.
He further said, “The BJP leaders always keep shouting emergency ke kale din (dark days of emergency). Is it ache din (good days) now? This is worst than an emergency. You(the centre) are not allowing the people’s elected Delhi government to function. You are not even honouring the Supreme Court judgement. You are going on a journey towards an emergency. The country will refute. In Karnataka, the people have taught you a lesson. In the coming days, they will do the same in the whole country.”
CM KCR added, “We demand that you (PM) withdraw the ordinance just like you withdrew the farm laws and others. You are ‘Maafi ka Saudagar’ (merchant of apology). So, withdraw it yourself. This is not good for the country, democracy or yourself. The PM and centre should withdraw the Ordinance without further loss of time. If not, we will unitedly fight. The whole system will support Kejriwal because it is a question of the existence of democracy in the country. It is a threat and challenge to democracy. It cannot be tolerated in a big country like India. If the Government of India does not honour SC, what is the fate of the country?”
During the joint press briefing, Delhi CM Kejriwal thanked CM KCR for his support and said, “KCR has said that the Telangana government and BRS party will give full support to get justice to the people of Delhi. But this is not just about Delhi but about saving the democracy of the country. The Ordinance is against democracy and the Constitution of India. I thank KCR for his support.”
“In Feb 2015, we formed our first government in Delhi. Within 3 months, on 23 May the Modi government brought a notification and snatched all our powers. Previously during the government of Sheila Dikshit, she had full control of the bureaucracy in the state. However, the powers were snatched from us with a notification. The people of Delhi have been fighting against this in different courts for 8 years. On May 11, 2022, the SC constitution bench has given a verdict in favour of the Delhi people. We had got justice after 8 years. However, within 8 days after this, the Modi government brought the Ordinance and cancelled the Supreme Court order”, CM Kejriwal said.
He further asked, “When the Prime Minister of a country does not listen to the Supreme Court, then where will the people go for justice? When the Prime Minister of a country does not follow the Supreme Court judgement, brings in law and flips the judgement, then there is no place left for justice. KCR has rightly said that this Ordinance is an insult to the Delhi people. The Prime Minister is saying that you (people) elect whoever you wish, but I will not allow them to work. The PM is challenging the Delhi people.”
The Delhi CM added, “When a non-BJP government is formed in any state, it is not allowed to function. We have seen in many places that 3 ways are used. Either the MLA of other parties are bought and the government is brought down or they break the MLA by sending ED, CBI or they bring Ordinance or wrongfully use the Governor, just like the Governor here does not pass the bills.”
He further said that “I am not just going around asking to support me but to support the democracy and Constitution of India. BJP has no majority in Rajya Sabha. Out of 238 MPs, BJP has only 93 MPs in Rajya Sabha. If all non-BJP parties are united, we can defeat this bill in Rajya Sabha. When this bill is defeated, the people of this country will have faith that the Modi government is not coming to power in 2024. This will be a semifinal to the 2024 elections and give confidence to the people of the country that Modi can be defeated. So, this is a fight to save the freedom and democracy of India.”
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann said, “We are fighting a battle to save the democracy of this country. LG is selected and the Delhi government is elected. In a democracy, the elected should take decisions. This is not just about Delhi, but all states are being troubled. The Governor of Punjab has been denied permission for a budget session in May. We went to Supreme Court and the SC ordered to allow the budget session. Later, the Governor said that he will not read ‘My government’ in his speech and we had to again go to SC. The Rajbhavan in states has become BJP offices. Governors have become star campaigners of the BJP. They are misusing the Governor system. If they don’t win in elections, they break MLA and win in the by-election. This is dangerous to the federal structure. We are the biggest democracy in the world but it is not being allowed to function.”
The Punjab CM added, “What is the use of going to the NITI Aayog meet? Should we go for clicking photos? They did not give us last year’s demands yet. They do not give anything to states. They organise these meetings but run the country as their wish. India is a multi-cultured country and we are here to protect it.” (ANI)
This report is filed by ANI news service.
