On Friday, June 23, the much-awaited Opposition meeting took place in Bihar’ Patna, with the involvement of major opposition parties, which are the Congress, the AAP, and state-level parties like the TMC, DMK, RJD, and JDU. But while on the one hand, the opposition leaders kept on talking about ‘fighting like a family’ and creating a ‘united opposition front’ to fight the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, not everything is hunky dory among the leaders and the parties involved.
Raising its concern over the ordinance of the central government, which states that the power to control the functioning and transfers of bureaucrats working in the national capital, will rest with the LG of Delhi and not the AAP government, the Aam Aadmi Party issued a statement after the opposition meeting, and questioned the Congress for its silence on the matter.
“The Black Ordinance not only aims to snatch the democratic rights of an elected government in Delhi, but also poses a significant threat to India’s democracy and Constitutional principles. If left unchallenged, this dangerous trend could spread to all other states, resulting in the usurpation of power from democratically elected state governments. It is crucial to defeat this Black Ordinance”, stated the AAP.
The statement further expressed, “A total of 15 parties are attending the like-minded party meeting in Patna, out of which 12 have representation in the Rajya Sabha. Except for the Indian National Congress, all other 11 parties which have representation in the Rajya Sabha, have clearly expressed their stand against the Black Ordinance and announced that they would oppose it in the Rajya Sabha”.
Questioning the Congress’ intentions, the AAP further said, “The Congress, a national party that takes a stand on almost all issues, has yet to make its position on the Black Ordinance. However, the Congress’ Delhi and Punjab units have announced that the party should support the Modi government on this issue. Today, during the like-minded party meeting in Patna, many parties urged the Congress to publicly denounce the Black Ordinance. However, the Congress refused to do so”.
“Congress’ silence raises suspicions about its real intentions. In personal discussions, senior Congress leaders have hinted that their party might formally or informally abstain from voting on it in the RS. The Congress’ abstention from voting on this issue will help the BJP immensely in furthering its attack on Indian democracy”, expressed the party in power in Delhi and Punjab.
Distancing itself from the Congress, the AAP has made it clear through its statement that “Congress’ hesitation and refusal to act as a team-player, especially on an issue as important as this one, would make it very difficult for the AAP to be a part of any alliance that includes the Congress. Until the Congress publicly denounces the Black Ordinance, and declares that all 31 of its RS MPs will oppose the ordinance in the RS, it will be difficult for the AAP to participate in future meetings of like-minded parties where the Congress is a participant”.
