NEW DELHI: Opposition parties on Wednesday welcomed the Supreme Court verdict which stated that Delhi’s lieutenant governor cannot not interfere with the policy decisions of the
AAP government.
Using the ruling to attack the NDA, CPM said the verdict had exposed the “charade of cooperative federalism” being played out by the Narendra
Modi government and reinforced the rights of a democratically-elected government.
CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury said the apex court verdict had brought the “misuse of power” by the LGs and governors into sharp focus, a sentiment that was echoed by the Communist Party of India which said the verdict should serve as a message not just to Delhi but also to all other states.
“We welcome the
SC judgment, which makes it very clear that the elected representatives cannot be ignored as they represent the people. The LGs and governors are selected by the president and the elected council. Though the order is for a particular state, it is applicable to all the LGs and governors. Even the Centre should take note of it,” CPI leader D Raja said.
Referring to the judgment as a “victory of federalism”, the
Left also sought to emphasise that it had extended its full support to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and his ministers who were forced to observe a sit-in protest for more than a week.
An official statement issued by CPI said, “The party is of the view that the verdict is a hard blow to the vindictive politics as well as disruptive practices which undermine federalism pursued by Narendra Modi led RSS-controlled BJP government at the Centre. The party once again urges the Modi government to give up its sectarian and anti-democratic attitude towards non-BJP state governments as well as its repeated attempts to topple them.”