At AAP rally against Centre’s ordinance, Arvind Kejriwal’s warning to other states: ‘You are next’
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, during a rally at Ramlila Maidan over Centre’s ordinance that effectively grants control of running the government to the Centre through the L-G, had a warning for the states ruled by Opposition parties.
“What does the ordinance say? Modiji’s ordinance says there will be no democracy in Delhi. There is dictatorship. The people are not supreme, the L-G is. It doesn’t matter who the people choose, I will run Delhi, Modiji says… Don’t think that this is happening to only Delhi. I have heard they are planning to bring a similar ordinance for the rest of the country as well. An ordinance like the one for Delhi is like the declaration of dictatorship. It will be brought in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh,” the CM said.
During the rally, called at the same grounds where the Aam Aadmi Party was formed and where three successive Kejriwal governments were sworn in, Kejriwal said the ordinance brought in by the Centre will cripple the elected government.
The rally comes in the backdrop of Kejriwal visiting states run by non-BJP governments, seeking support to defeat the ordinance in the Rajya Sabha. That, however, is a tall order since the ordinance requires a simple majority to be passed, which the BJP and its allies have in the Upper House.
Present on stage on Sunday were Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, AAP MPs Sanjay Singh, Sandeep Pathak and Sushil Gupta, MLAs Gopal Rai, Saurabh Bharadwaj and Durgesh Pathak and former Congress leader Kapil Sibal, who the party said had been called in his capacity as a constitutional expert.
Speaking about the formation of the party at Ramlila Maidan in 2012, Kejriwal said, “Twelve years ago, we gathered here against corruption. This is a sacred stage. Today, we have gathered to oust a dictator from the country. At the time, our movement was successful. This is a movement to end dictatorship and bring back democracy. I thank our lawyer in SC, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, for arguing for us, for you and winning.”
He added: “The Prime Minister says I don’t respect the Supreme Court. This is for the first time in several years that a Prime Minister has behaved this way. The people of the country are shocked. They can’t believe their PM is so arrogant. This is called dictatorship. The will of the people is not being followed. What does the SC say that the PM does not want to follow the order? The SC said that democracy is supreme. The will of the people is supreme. The elected government, irrespective of the party, should have the right to work. I want to ask, was the SC wrong? Should the PM adhere to the order?”
Over the past month, the Delhi government has been at loggerheads with several Central officers, especially those in the vigilance department. While the government has accused the department officers of trying to stall work and threatening other officers, L-G House staff has accused the AAP government of trying to throw a spanner in the ongoing investigations in the cases against them.
Accusing the Modi government of stopping work in Delhi, Kejriwal said, “In 2019, the people of Delhi gave 62 seats to AAP and asked Modiji to stay away from Delhi. But Modiji is incapable of running the country so he gets up and starts interfering in Delhi each day.”
“I make schools, he doesn’t let me. I make hospitals, he doesn’t let me. Modiji got my mohalla clinics demolished. Last year, he stopped free medicines in Delhi government hospitals. I got CCTV cameras put up, but Modiji made the L-G stop them. Last year, he stopped the free medical tests. He also stopped the free yoga classes. Modiji, aap desh sambhaalo na. Aapse desh toh sambhal nahi raha (Modiji, please take care of the country, because at this point, it doesn’t seem that you are being able to do that). Inflation is rising. Petrol is at Rs 100 a litre. Diesel is at Rs 90. Milk and vegetables are more expensive. LPG cylinders now cost more than Rs 1,000. They are not able to understand how to control this. A Class 4-pass king has no idea how to run the country,” he added.
Hitting out at the Centre over the decision to discontinue Rs 2,000 notes from circulation, Kejriwal said: “One day they say, a 2,000 rupee note will come, five years later they say it will go. Had you chosen a wiser PM, they would have been able to say whether the Rs 2,000 note will stay or go. There is unemployment and corruption everywhere, they can’t understand how to fix that. Traders are suffering because of the GST. In 2002, the PM was the CM of Gujarat. He was CM for 12 years. He has been the PM for 9 years. He has been in power for 21 years. I became the Delhi CM in 2015. I appeal to the people to compare who has worked more — him or I?
Speaking on the impact of the ordinance passed, Kapil Sibal said: “The way the Modi government is operating, I don’t think India’s democracy will survive for long. He always says that he wants a double-engine sarkar. What does that mean? He wants every state government for himself. He’s not running a double-engine government but a double-barrel government. One barrel is the CBI and the other the ED. If the central government wanted to take full control of Delhi, why did they give Delhi a Legislative Assembly? They should’ve let it remain a UT.”
He added: “When taken to court, the court ruled their actions are unconstitutional. If they wanted full control of Delhi, why did they conduct elections for the Legislative Assembly? I hope the Supreme Court abolishes this ordinance. Because, if the government does not listen to the Supreme Court, the bureaucrats in Delhi will get all the power. Even the state Cabinet council has a bureaucrat present. Even that will be decided by the Central government. I’ve been asked to come here on an independent basis. I don’t represent any party here. Let me familiarise the BJP with the truth. People don’t like you. They’ve had enough of you. People are getting crushed under your policies. They’ve realised that not a single policy of yours has helped them.”
