After Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Saturday, the latter raised a protest against the Centre’s ordinance on control over administrative services in the national capital. Rao said that the Centre is hindering the state governments from properly functioning. Rao also compared the current situation to the 1975 Emergency period imposed by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He then boldly demanded PM Narendra Modi to withdraw the ordinance immediately. The Telangana CM even threatened to use all of the strength in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to counter the ordinance if it is not withdrawn.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader was accompanied by his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann and AAP MPs Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha. Kejriwal was in Hyderabad was part of his nationwide tour to seek support against the ordinance in order to bring justice to the people of Delhi. He sought support in particular from Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). Chief Minister Rao’s support provided immense strength to Kejriwal and his party.
The ordinance, the Union government issued on May 19, aimed at rules for the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) concerning transfer posting, vigilance, and other matters. This overrides the Supreme Court judgement in the Centre vs Delhi case.
The Union government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi sets the central law and policy which will affect the state governments in India. Its current ordinance, concerning the administrative services in Delhi, has been met with much disapproval. It is paramount for the Centre to keep in mind the need for autonomy of state governments. Allowing them to operate freely without any external interference is necessary for the proper functioning of any democracy. It remains to be seen if PM Modi will take action on the matter and withdraw the ordinance.
