Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has promised to help the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) block the government's special order taking control of Delhi's bureaucrats, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Wednesday.
The two leaders met at Matoshree, the storied residence of the Thackerays in Mumbai, where Mr Kejriwal was accompanied by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, AAP Rajya Sabha members Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha, as well as Delhi minister Atishi.
"Uddhav Thackeray has promised us that they will support us in the parliament and if this bill (ordinance) does not pass in the Parliament then in 2024, the Modi government will not be coming back to power," Mr Kejriwal said.
Mr Thackeray said, "We all have come together to save the country and democracy. I think we should not be called 'opposition' parties, in fact, they (centre) should be called 'opposition' since they are against democracy and the constitution."
On Tuesday, Mr Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata as part of their nationwide tour to collect support for the AAP's fight against the centre's ordinance.
The centre on Friday introduced an ordinance to create an authority for transfers and postings of Group-A officers in Delhi, with the AAP government calling the move a deception with the Supreme Court verdict on control of services.
The ordinance, which comes a week after the Supreme Court handed over the control of services in Delhi excluding police, public order and land to the elected government, seeks to set up a National Capital Civil Service Authority for transfer of and disciplinary proceedings against Group-A officers from the DANICS cadre.
Transfer and postings of all officers of the Delhi government were under the executive control of the lieutenant governor before the May 11 verdict of the Supreme Court.
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