Kejriwal returns to Ramlila Maidan, vows to rid India of 'dictatorship' at AAP's Maha Rally

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday returned to Ramlila Maidan after 12 years to lead the AAP’s ‘Maha Rally’ against the Centre’s ordinance on control of services in the national capital.

Addressing the rally, Kejriwal said, “It is here we assembled 12 years back to rid India of corruption, and today we embark on another struggle to rid India of dictatorship.” He said a constitutional bench of the Supreme Court gave Delhi government exclusive right to control Delhi’s bureaucracy on May 11, but the Centre promulgated an ordinance to nullify the SC judgement within a week.

“This ordinance has exposed Modi’s dictatorial instincts. Modi says I don’t accept the judgement of the SC, we will make our own laws. But I promise that we will correct this wrong and won’t allow this ordinance, when introduced as a Bill in the Parliament. We will oppose this ordinance tooth and nail,” he added.

Also read: Cooperative federalism being turned into joke, boycotting Niti Aayog meet: Kejriwal to Modi

Word of caution

Kejriwal also had a word of caution for other states as he said, “This ordinance is only against Delhi, but mark my words such ordinance will be introduced in all Opposition-ruled states. I got to know this during my tour in the past few weeks.”

The ordinance says that there will be no democracy in Delhi, he alleged. “There will be dictatorship in Delhi and the LG is supreme. People can vote for whoever they want, but the Centre will run Delhi,” he charged. On the arrests of AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain, he alleged that they were arrested in order to stop works in the national capital. “But we have 100 Sisodias and 100 Jains. They will continue the good work,” the chief minister said.

Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal said, “Modi’s dream of double-engine sarkar will never materialise. What is the meaning of double-engine sarkar? Is it a state where the entire Opposition is wiped out? Is this a sign of healthy democracy? A democracy that Modi mentions in all his speeches.”

AAP MP Sanjay Singh said Kejriwal’s meeting with the leaders of the Opposition parties against Centre’s ordinance have been very successful. “Our efforts to unite Opposition leaders to defeat the ordinance, when it is introduced as a Bill in the Parliament, will certainly fructify,” he added.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said today’s rally is not a show of strength but an attempt to highlight how the BJP-led Central government is “taking away the rights” of Delhi’s electorate. “The ordinance is not against the AAP, it is against the democratic rights of the people of Delhi,” he added.

Analysis: Can Kejriwal get the Delhi ordinance toppled in RS? What numbers say

BJP’s poster attack

Meanwhile, the BJP has launched a “poster attack” on Kejriwal, both online and offline. The official account of the BJP this morning tweeted a poster, based on the poster of a recent movie ‘Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai’, taking a jibe at the AAP chief.

The BJP has strategically placed its placards on Delhi’s roads next to AAP posters on the rally. “Mega rally against the dictatorship of the Centre,” the AAP poster reads. “Rs 45 crore for Kejriwal’s house renovation. Please answer. This money is from my taxes,” a bigger BJP placard right next to it reads.

Earlier, security was stepped up ahead of the AAP’s ‘Maha Rally’. Around 12 companies of paramilitary forces, along with the local police, were deployed at the venue while surveillance through CCTV was also conducted. Metal detectors were installed at the entry gates of the ground. Those entering the rally venue were frisked. Senior officials from the district were also present at the venue.

(With agency inputs)