New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Sunday threw an open challenge that his eight years of work in Delhi be compared with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 21 years in power, including his tenure as Gujarat CM.
“Despite not having much power, Kejriwal has done more work,” he said.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener was addressing a huge crowd of supporters and party workers from various states at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan, where the party organised a ‘mega-rally’ to protest against the central government’s ordinance that nullifies the Supreme Court’s 11 May judgment declaring that the Delhi government has legislative and executive power over administrative services.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, AAP MPs and former Congress leader Kapil Sibal were also present at the event.
The rally was held amid tight security and scorching heat. Thousands of people gathered at the venue, which was also the birthplace of the India Against Corruption movement 12 years ago.
At the venue Sunday, Kejriwal asserted that they have gathered again “to remove a dictator and to save the constitution”.
“This is the first Prime Minister who does not believe in the Supreme Court. The ordinance says that the people of Delhi are not supreme, their vote is not supreme. Instead, the Lieutenant Governor is supreme,” Kejriwal told the crowd.
On 19 May, the central government promulgated the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023, which overruled the apex court’s 11 May judgment that gave the elected government of Delhi authority over officers of verious services.
The ordinance was widely criticised by the AAP and other opposition parties for undermining the federal structure of the government and transferring the power of an elected government to an unelected L-G appointed by the central government.
Appealing to the crowd to spread his message far and wide, Kejriwal said a similar ordinance will be brought to other states as well.
“I will ensure that the Supreme Court’s order is implemented and that the ordinance gets cancelled. I have been travelling across the country to gather support for this, and let me tell the people of Delhi that the [rest of] the country is with you,” said Kejriwal.
Sibal and Mann also addressed the crowd and warned against the central government’s growing control over the country’s institutions.
Meanwhile, ahead of the rally, the BJP’s Delhi unit tweeted photos of hoardings that it installed at multiple locations in the city, mocking Kejriwal for allegedly spending Rs 52 crore on renovating his official residence. The BJP has contrasted this with Kejriwal’s entry into politics as a common man.
ग़रीबों की कमाई के 45 करोड़ खर्च कर राजमहल सजाया
केजरीवाल जवाब दो?? pic.twitter.com/BOuT2RCQhW
— BJP Delhi (@BJP4Delhi) June 11, 2023
Reacting to Kejriwal’s speech, BJP’s Delhi unit chief Virendra Sachdeva said that the language used by the CM at the rally was frivolous.
“He [Kejriwal] is not a common man, he is corrupt. It is our resolve that we will take Kejriwal to the same place where Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain are,” Sachdeva told reporters at a press conference Sunday.
Also read: Preventive detention for bootleggers, cybercrooks — L-G clears bid to bring ‘draconian law’ to Delhi
Kejriwal’s massive bid to rally Opposition
Days after the ordinance was promulgated, Kejriwal led an extensive outreach programme to gather support from opposition parties in a bid to help prevent the Bill from being passed in the Rajya Sabha during the monsoon session.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee are among the opposition leaders who have extended their support to Kejriwal till now.
Simultaneously, in a bid to create public awareness on the subject, Kejriwal’s cabinet colleagues, and MLAs in Delhi, reached out to the city’s public through on-ground interactions at various constituencies.
Lashing out at the central government, Kejriwal said that it is preventing the capital’s elected government from executing their work on the ground. He went on to narrate the story of a “fourth-pass [uneducated] king” — a purported jibe at Modi.
“Whoever speaks against this king, gets wrecked. The next time you go out to vote, cast it for a prime minister who at least has the basic understanding of whether Rs 2,000 notes should be brought into effect or not,” said Kejriwal.
Prior to Kejriwal’s address, Sibal took to the podium to express his opposition to the ordinance and slammed the BJP-led Union government.
In May last year, Sibal resigned from the Congress and went on to file a nomination as an independent candidate for the Rajya Sabha elections with support from the Samajwadi Party.
“The time has come for all opposition parties to unite and fight against Modi. His goal is to finish all opposition parties and have control over all states. This is a double-barrel government, one barrel is the ED and the other is the CBI,” he said.
Meanwhile, while addressing the crowd, Punjab CM Mann said: “If the BJP wins in 2024, they will change the Constitution and there will be no elections after.”
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
Also read: Too unsafe for a nightlife? Why efforts to make Delhi a 24/7 city are proving slow-starters