Decision on Delhi ordinance issue will be taken before Parliament session: Kharge
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday (June 23) said a decision on whether to oppose the Centre’s ordinance on the control of administrative services in Delhi would be taken before the Parliament session.
His remarks come a day after the AAP’s ultimatum that it will walk out of the Opposition meeting in Patna if the Congress does not promise its support over the issue.
Asked about the ordinance issue and AAP’s ultimatum, Kharge, before leaving for Patna on Friday morning (June 23), said his party would take a decision on it before Parliament’s Monsoon session and wondered why it was being talked about elsewhere when it was a matter that pertains to Parliament.
Also read: Will fight BJP together, like a family: Mamata ahead of Opposition meet in Patna
“Opposing it or proposing it does not happen outside, it happens in Parliament. Before Parliament begins, all parties decide what issues they have to work on together. They (AAP) know it and even their leaders come to our all-party meetings. I dont know why there is so much publicity about it outside,” Kharge said.
“About 18-20 parties decide together on what to oppose and what to accept. So instead of saying anything now, we will take a decision before Parliament begins,” he said.
#WATCH | We all want to fight together against BJP and our agenda is to remove the BJP govt… We will take a decision on this (on supporting AAP against the Centre's ordinance) before the Parliament session, says Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge as he leaves for the… pic.twitter.com/ew2Qzs2Vfq
— ANI (@ANI) June 23, 2023
The meeting of opposition parties has been called by Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar to chalk out a joint strategy to take on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
“The AAP will stage a walkout of the meeting if the Congress does not promise its support against the ordinance,” one of the party sources had said.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had expressed hope on Tuesday (June 20) that the Congress would clear its stand on the Centre’s ordinance on the control of administrative services in the national capital at the meeting of non-BJP parties in Patna.
Also read: Opposition’s Patna meet on June 23; Rahul, Stalin, Mamata, Pawar, Kejriwal to attend
Keeping its cards close to its chest, the Congress has so far kept its stand ambiguous as to whether it would support the AAP or not when the ordinance is put to the test in Parliament by the BJP-led Centre.
Congress leaders Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, her Delhi counterpart Kejriwal, Punjab’s Bhagwant Mann, Tamil Nadu’s MK Stalin, Jharkhand’s Hemant Soren, Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav, Maharashtra’s former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, and NCP president Sharad Pawar are among the leaders expected to attend the opposition meeting.
Leaders of the PDP, CPI(M), CPI, CPI(ML), and the National Conference will also attend the first high-level opposition meeting.
(With agency inputs)
