Ranchi: Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) formally announced on Friday that it will support the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in opposing the Centre’s ordinance on control of administrative services in Delhi after a meeting between Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Jharkhand counterpart Hemant Soren in Ranchi.
Announcing this at a press conference here, Kejriwal said the ordinance must be defeated collectively in the Parliament where it is likely to come up for voting as a law in the forthcoming session.
Soren, who accompanied him at the press meet after their meeting where Punjab CM Bhagwant Singh Mann was also present, said, “The Centre’s attack on democracy is a matter of serious concern.” Keriwal and Mann arrived here on a special flight from Chennai on Thursday night accompanied by AAP MPs Raghav Chadha and Sanjay Singh besides AAP MLA Atishi.
“JMM will support AAP in opposing the central ordinance on control of administrative services in Delhi. The Centre is creating a crisis for the AAP and is preventing a duly elected government from functioning independently,” the Delhi CM said.
“Despite the Supreme Court verdict in favour of the AAP government (the apex court had ruled that the control over transfer and posting of top bureaucrats in Delhi would vest with the state government), the Centre brought the ordinance,” Kejriwal stressed.
He described the movement against the ordinance “like a fight for independence”.
Kejriwal said, “This ordinance should be collectively defeated in Parliament as it is undemocratic, against the federal structure and unconstitutional.”
He added, “We will not allow the central government to suppress democratic rights of people.” He said he had “brotherly relationship” with Soren and they frequently interacted with each other on various topics.
Last month injustice was done with the people of Delhi and their rights were taken away, which amounts to insulting people, he said.
“The ordinance bill is likely to be tabled in the monsoon session….If non-BJP parties come together in Rajya Sabha, it can be defeated. If not stopped, they can bring similar ordinances for other states to take away their rights. The move is like interfering with the basic tenets of the Constitution,” Kejriwal said.
Appealing to every citizen to come forward to oppose the ordinance, he said, “We are getting response from all parties. Soren has assured full support outside and inside the Parliament over the issue. I urge other parties to support AAP against this anti-people ordinance. People of Delhi have got Jharkhand’s support for which I am grateful.”
Soren said elected non-BJP governments were being targeted systematically and it is a blow on the “unity and diversity” of the country.