The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has raised concerns over the Congress party’s silence on the Ordinance for control of services in Delhi brought out by the Modi government. In a statement, the AAP said that unless Congress publicly denounces the Ordinance, it will be difficult for AAP to be part of any alliance where Congress is a constituent. The party raised suspicions about Congress’ real intentions. The rift between Congress and AAP was visible even at the mega opposition meeting in Patna. AAP attended the meeting of opposition leaders but skipped the press briefing convened to send out a message of opposition unity. AAP made it clear that it will be difficult for it to participate in future meetings of like-minded parties where Congress is a participant until the latter publicly denounces the black ordinance.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge responded by saying that parties will decide on the issue before the start of the parliament session. He added that 18-20 parties decide together what to oppose and what to accept. Sources aware of the discussions held in the Patna meeting revealed that AAP has not earned any brownie points with other opposition parties for insisting on the ordinance and wanting parties to foreground the matter specifically. The opposition leaders vowed to fight the BJP unitedly, and their plans will be finalised in the next round of discussion.
The Ordinance for control of services in Delhi by the Modi government has raised concerns amongst different political parties. The AAP believes that the Ordinance, if left unchallenged, could result in the usurpation of power from democratically-elected state governments and lead to a dangerous trend that could spread to other states. AAP’s reservation about Congress’ stance on the issue has led to a rift between the two parties, jeopardizing the possibility of an alliance where Congress is a constituent. While both parties stand opposed to the BJP, their views on specific issues diverge, leading to a lack of unity amongst opposition parties.
