Democracy or Modi, Congress must decide: Kejriwal on ordinance row

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on Friday met his Jharkhand counterpart Hemant Soren to seek support against the ordinance that gives the Centre control over bureaucrats in Delhi, reported ANI. Addressing a press conference in Ranchi, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief said the Congress has to decide whether it is with "democracy, constitution, and 140 crore citizens of India or with PM Narendra Modi."

To note, Kejriwal has gathered the support of several opposition parties and his counterparts in other states against the ordinance, but the Congress is still indecisive over the issue. Reportedly, several Congress leaders have openly shown resistance to supporting Kejriwal owing to past conflicts. Meanwhile, the AAP leader has sought time to meet Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge to gain their backing.

After the meeting, Soren, a Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader, termed the Centre's ordinance an "attack" on the "federal structure" of the country. "This is not just an attack on the government but also on the people. We will also have a deep discussion on the issue within the party and will work on how to proceed against this (ordinance) democratically," he added.

Notably, Kejriwal and his associates embarked on a nationwide trip on May 23 to seek support from the opposition parties against the ordinance. So far, he has met Telangana CM K Chadrashekar Rao, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin, former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav.