Arvind Kejriwal meets Mamata Banerjee: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann accompanied him on the trip.
In another round of Opposition meetings across the country, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at Nabanna, the state secretariat in Kolkata. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, AAP's Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha, and Delhi Minister Atishi Singh accompanied the Aam Aadmi Party chief on his visit. The meeting comes after the union government brought in an executive order that overrides the Supreme Court verdict on transfers and postings of officers that favoured the Delhi Government led by Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party.
The principal Opposition party, the Indian National Congress, which has so far been at loggerheads with the Aam Aadmi Party, on Monday indicated that while it agrees in principle that the Centre's executive order on transfers and postings in Delhi is undermining the Supreme Court, they would prefer to take a collective decision on their stance on siding with Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party in the Parliament.
"The Congress Party has not taken any decision on the issue of the Ordinance brought against the SC judgment on the powers of the Government of NCT of Delhi with respect to appointment of officers. It will consult its state units & other like-minded parties on the same.
The Party believes in the Rule of Law and at the same time does not condone unnecessary confrontation, political witch-hunt and campaigns based on lies against political opponents by any political party," Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal tweeted last night.
Other issues like forming a collective strategy to take on the BJP in 2024 could also be on the agenda as Mr Kejriwal meets Mamata Banerjee. The meeting comes after Mamata Banerjee has already met several Opposition leaders from across the country including Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, RJD's Tejaswi Yadav, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy. While all these leaders have been keen on a common strategy, Mamata Banerjee has also met Naveen Patnaik who has announced he will stay away from any Opposition formation.
Nitish Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav on Sunday flew to Delhi and met Arvind Kejriwal, who has proposed a Rajya Sabha "plan" that could be a "semi-final" before the general elections.
Arvind Kejriwal will also meet Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray and NCP Chief Sharad Pawar on May 24 and 25 respectively in Mumbai to discuss the plan to block the Ordinance in the Rajya Sabha.
The centre has justified the Ordinance saying that dual authority and responsibility of the national capital will endanger security, and affect the coordination that the administration of the country requires.
Senior government officials explained to NDTV the five most important factors that drove the Centre's decision.
Sources said the Centre took extensive feedback from bureaucrats, specifically those working in Delhi. "Many have communicated to us how they are unable to work efficiently and are often accused of siding with the Centre," they said.
KC Venugopal on Monday also said the opposition will hold a meeting in which many parties will participate.
His remarks came after a meeting with Nitish Kumar, who is leading the charge of uniting the opposition parties against the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of next year's Lok Sabha polls.