The AAP's request comes on a day when the party has extended its support to Rahul Gandhi. (File)
Despite the Aam Aadmi Party's bombshell after the mega opposition meeting in Patna that it will not be part of any future gatherings that include the Congress until it publicly opposes the Centre's Delhi ordinance, the Congress has reached out and invited the party to the next opposition meeting in Bengaluru.
The AAP has confirmed it has got the invite for the meeting, which is scheduled to be held on July 17-18. The party has, however, reminded the Congress of its commitment at the Patna meeting that it would announce its opposition to the ordinance 15 days before the Parliament session.
"They had said this in front of the other parties at the June 23 Patna meeting. The monsoon session will begin on July 20 and today is July 7. We request the Congress to announce that they will oppose the ordinance when it is tabled in the Parliament. We hope that the party will announce its support to us on this," AAP's National General Secretary (Organisation) Sandeep Pathak said.
The AAP's request comes on a day when the party has extended its support to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi after the Gujarat High Court dismissed his petition seeking a stay on his conviction in the "Modi surname" case, which had led to his disqualification from the Lok Sabha.
AAP chief spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar said today that the denial of stay was certainly wrong and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had also called the conviction "wrong".
Even as the press conference of opposition leaders was on after the 16-party meeting in Patna on June 23, the AAP had issued a statement saying that the Congress' hesitation and "refusal to act as a team player will make it very difficult for the AAP to be a part of any alliance that includes the Congress".
The AAP had said that it would not be part of any future opposition gatherings that include the Congress until the party publicly opposes the Centre's contentious ordinance on the control of administrative services in Delhi.