You'll be next, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal warns other states on ordinance

NEW DELHI: Taking AAP's fight against the Centre's ordinance on control over services to the streets, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, at a rally at Ramlila Maidan on Sunday, claimed that Delhi was just the beginning and similar ordinances will be brought for other states, reports Atul Mathur.
The AAP national convener said PM Modi has refused to abide by the Supreme Court and with this ordinance, it was the LG that had become "supreme" in the capital instead of people who elect governments. "Dilli mein ab jantantra nahi hoga, Dilli mein ab taanashahi hogi (There will be no democracy in Delhi now, there will be dictatorship)," he said, adding that regardless of whoever the public votes for, the government will be run by the PM.
AAP Has 100 Sisodias, Jains, Work Will Not Stop: Kejriwal
"The Prime Minister has shredded the Indian Constitution to pieces. He has changed the Constitution... The PM says there is no value of the people's vote.... This is dictatorship... It is an insult to the people of Delhi and I cannot tolerate it," chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said at a huge rally ar Ramlila Maidan against the Centre's ordinance on control of services.
To bypass the Supreme Court's May 11 judgment, which gave control over bureaucracy in Delhi, including transfers and postings, to the elected dispensation, the Centre brought an Ordinance on May 19.
While Kejriwal has been meeting the leaders of opposition parties to drum up support to stop the Ordinance from being passed in the Rajya Sabha, the rally was an attempt to take the fight against the saffron party to the general public at a time when the Lok Sabha elections are less than a year away.
If the crowd was any indication, AAP managed to showcase its strength as thousands braved the scorching heat to throng Ramlila Maidan, where the party was formed over 12 years ago. The rally was attended by Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal, apart from all ministers, MPs, MLAs and councillors of AAP.
As a reminder to regional parties, Kejriwal said the Ordinance was Modi's first attack on the federal structure and he had "inside information" that similar ordinances had been planned for the other states, including Rajasthan, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Kejriwal said that when the Centre could not stop the AAP government from working even after putting former deputy CM Manish Sisodia and former health minister Satyendar Jain in jail, it had now promulgated the Ordinance. "But BJP does not know that we have 100 Sisodias and 100 Jains in Aam Aadmi Party. The work for welfare and development will not stop," he emphasised, adding that the people of Delhi gave a clear mandate to Modi to run the country while leaving Delhi to Kejriwal, but the Centre was constantly trying to create problems.
"Twelve years ago, we gathered here to fight against corruption... today, we are back here to oust a dictator from the country," the chief minister said. "This is a movement to end dictatorship, to bring back democracy," he added.
The AAP national convener also launched a scathing attack on the Centre's policies and alleged that the country was facing problems of inflation and unemployment, but the Modi-led central government had no clue how to run the country. "He does not know how to control unemployment, corruption, price rise and improve the GST system. Look what they have done to railways, take a ride and you will know that they have destroyed it," Kejriwal said. He attacked the Centre on issuing and withdrawing Rs 2,000 currency notes within a few years.
Drawing a comparison between his eight years as CM of Delhi with Modi's 21 years in administration, Kejriwal alleged that the Prime Minister had done nothing except stopping works of other governments while he (Kejriwal) built schools and hospitals, provided good education and treatment and gave free electricity to people. Referring to the debate over freebie culture, he said, "I gave only four revdis to the poor, but the Prime Minister has given the entire country to his friends."
Terming BJP as Bharatiya Jugaadu Party, Mann said, "This rally has been organised to save democracy. If the same government is elected in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, it will not allow any election to be held in the future."