Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal -- out to unite the Opposition to defeat the Centre's bill on control of Delhi bureaucrats in Rajya Sabha -- today declared Delhi has the support of Nationalist Congress chief Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray.
From Mumbai, where he met Uddhav Thackeray yesterday, Mr Kejriwal said the gameplan of the BJP is creating "a very dangerous situation for the country". "This is not a matter of opposition, it is a matter of the country," he said.
Mr Kejriwal has already met his Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Much hope, though, rides on the meeting with Sharad Pawar, one of the most respected and veteran political leaders in the opposition camp. There is speculation that Mr Pawar's help might be needed to bring the Congress on board with the Rajya Sabha strategy.
"Sharad Pawar sir is one of the biggest leaders of the country today. I request Mr. Pawar that while he himself is supporting us, please help us garner support from other parties of the country," Mr Kejriwal said at a joint press conference where he shared stage Mr Pawar and NCP leaders.
"My thinking is that Arvind should get support by talking to non-BJP parties -- be it the Congress or BJD," Sharad Pawar said. "This is not the time for arguments. Democracy has to be saved... I have completed 56 years in politics. The advantage of this is that if you go to any part of the country, everyone is familiar," Mr Pawar added.
"After leaving tomorrow, I'll seek an appointment with Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi," Mr Kejriwal responded.
The Congress is yet to spell out its stand on the matter and said it would do so only after conferring with its regional leaders, many of whom are against the idea of aiding regional parties. The Delhi unit of the Congress is at loggerheads with Mr Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party, and its senior leader Ajay Maken has been pointed in his criticism of AAP.
Bringing the Congress on board is essential if AAP has to win the Rajya Sabha battle. The party has 31 MPs in the upper house. The Trinamool Congress has 12 MPs, NCP has four, and Shiv Sena (UBT) has three members and AAP has 10 MPs.
The bill on the matter is expected to be brought in parliament in the monsoon session and the BJP is confident that it will be passed in both houses.
The NDA currently has 110 seats -- close to the majority mark of 119. The opposition too, has 110, meaning if all the parties come on board, the role of non-aligned parties like Naveen Patnaik's Biju Janata Dal and Andhra Pradesh's ruling YSR Congress will become crucial.
The Centre's Ordinance or executive order passed last week overrides a recent order of the Supreme Court, which said the elected government is the boss of Delhi in terms of control of bureaucrats.
It creates a National Capital Civil Services Authority which is tasked with postings and transfers of bureaucrats serving in Delhi. The Chief Minister, the Chief Secretary and the Principal Home Secretary will be members who can vote on issues. The final arbiter is the Lieutenant Governor.
The judgment came after an eight-year tussle between the Centre and the Arvind Kejriwal government, following the Centre's decision to place the Services department under the control of the Lieutenant Governor in 2015.
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