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After the Centre’s May 19 ordinance, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal has kicked off a relentless no-holds barred attack against the BJP-led NDA government.
In the past one month alone, the Delhi chief minister has met his counterparts of five non-BJP ruled states, leaders of five opposition parties which are not in power in their respective states and is still waiting to hear from the Congress. Each such meeting has led to joint press conferences where Kejriwal has taken care to emphasise that ordinances that strip the state government of its powers can be brought against full states also.
In fact, Kejriwal met CPI general secretary D Raja a day after the Enforcement Directorate had raided a Tamil Nadu minister in the state secretariat. Opposing the ordinance, Raja went a step further and re-iterated his party’s demand for full statehood for Delhi.
“As far as the CPI is concerned, we have made it very clear that our party is with Kejriwal on this issue. In fact, our party is one of the parties which has been demanding full statehood to Delhi because we have an elected government here, we have an elected chief minister but no powers. Why? It is the same with Puducherry. So, our parties has been raising this issue of full statehood for Delhi and Puducherry.”
He added that “it is not the Delhi government which is involved, it can happen to any other government” and said “all non-BJP governments are being targeted”.
In the last meeting with the CPI leader, Kejriwal had said: “If anyone thinks that this ordinance has been promulgated because Delhi is a half state, they are wrong. This kind of ordinance can be brought in the case of Rajasthan for all the subjects under the concurrent list, for Punjab, for Haryana, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. Let no government which is ruling a full state think that this is a Delhi-specific matter. They have started this in Delhi, it is their ‘prayog’ in Delhi. If it is not stopped in Delhi then tomorrow, wherever non-BJP governments are formed, such ordinances will be brought in.”
The Enforcement Directorate’s raid and subsequent arrest of Tamil Nadu minister Senthil Balaji has clearly provided more ammunition to the AAP and other opposition parties to ambush the Union government.
Kejriwal tweeted: “BJP’s misuse of central agencies to harass and intimidate the opposition continues unabated. Strongly condemn the ED raids against Thiru V Senthil Balaji, Tamil Nadu’s Electricity Minister. Blinded by political vendetta, the BJP is causing irreversible damage to our democracy.”
Referring to a press release by the Raj Bhavan in Tamil Nadu, which stated that the Governor had not agreed to Balaji continuing as a minister, AAP MP Raghav Chadha said it was “another case of tyranny of the unelected”.
“Tamil Nadu Governor has unilaterally remarked that an MLA can’t continue as a minister, something which is unheard of. Constitutionally, council of ministers is CM’s sole prerogative, not Governor’s.”
He added, “Recent events in Punjab, Delhi, Bengal and Tamil Nadu have shown that some governors are excessively overstepping their bounds. In Punjab, the Governor had refused to summon the budget session of the assembly and rejected the cabinet’s resolution to this effect. In Delhi, the L-G has consistently and systematically paralysed governance and crippled the elected government. What we are witnessing across non-BJP states is a dangerous trend. Governors are not above the law.”
Sharpening his attack on the Union government, Chadha said Governors and L-G offices should be abolished as they are a “colonial hangover”.
Following the death of two women due to firing in Delhi’s RK Puram, Kejriwal once again targeted the Lieutenant Governor’s office.
“The people of Delhi are feeling extremely insecure. Those who have been entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining law and order are instead conspiring to take control of Delhi government. Had Delhi’s law and order been with the AAP government instead of the L-G, Delhi would have been the safest city,” he said.
The AAP chief also attacked the Centre over the deadly Odisha train tragedy which has claimed 291 lives until now and injured more than a thousand people. “They, who cannot run trains, how will they run the country?” he tweeted.
The same day, he took potshots at Home Minister Amit Shah whose office had tweeted, “The Modi government is working towards freeing the country of drugs, and uprooting the drug traffickers from Punjab. To fight against drugs, NCB will open its office in Amritsar, and BJP workers will fan out in every village to raise awareness against drugs.”
Quoting this tweet, Kejriwal said: “Are you opening NCB office or BJP’s office. How can NCB work in villages through BJP workers? This means you do not have anything to do with the issue of drugs in Punjab. You want to use the NCB for BJP’s propaganda. The drug menace took root in Punjab during your and the Akali government, Shah sahib.”
With his back to the wall over multiple cases of alleged corruption involving his former ministers, his close aides still behind bars and defanged after the central government’s May 19 ordinance, Kejriwal is fighting back with every tool in his armour — galvanising support amongst opposition parties, reaching out to the people of Delhi and most importantly, throwing his weight with the opposition.
Up until now, AAP preferred to fight every election alone, believing that the best way to defeat the BJP would be with each opposition leader taking on the BJP in their respective states. The party today appears to be more flexible and willing to re-work that strategy.
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