The Congress has so far been ambivalent on the matter, stating that it will consult with other like-minded parties before making a decision.
“On May 25, I will seek time from Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi to meet them on this issue,” said Kejriwal.
Kejriwal meets Pawar
The AAP national convener — along with Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, AAP MP Raghav Chadha, Delhi minister Atishi and other leaders of the party — met NCP president Sharad Pawar at Yashwantrao Chavan Centre in Mumbai.
“Sharad Pawar has assured us that the NCP will support us in defeating the Rajya Sabha bill to replace the Centre’s ordinance against the Delhi government. We are trying to gather support from all non-BJP parties,” said Kejriwal in a joint press conference with Pawar.
A crisis in the country: Pawar
Speaking at the joint presser, the NCP president said it was the duty of all non-BJP parties to support Arvind Kejriwal as this is a “fight for the survival of parliamentary democracy”.
“There is a crisis in the country and it’s not an issue limited to Delhi. The NCP and the people of Maharashtra will support Kejriwal. We will also talk to other leaders to support Kejriwal. We must focus on bringing all non-BJP parties together,” he added.
Gathering support
Kejriwal is on a nationwide tour to garner support for his fight against the Centre’s ordinance.
On May 23, he met his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata. Banerjee has assured the Delhi CM that the TMC will back him in the power tussle.
A day later, Kejriwal met former Maharashtra CM and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray at the latter’s Bandra home in Mumbai.
A few weeks ago, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar had announced his support for Kejriwal in the ordinance fight.
Power tussle
On May 19, the Centre promulgated an ordinance to create an authority for the transfer and posting of Group-A officers in Delhi, with the AAP government calling the move a deception with the Supreme Court verdict on control of services.
The ordinance came a week after the Supreme Court handed over the control of services in Delhi excluding police, public order and land to the elected government, seeks to set up a National Capital Civil Service Authority for transfer of and disciplinary proceedings against Group-A officers from the DANICS cadre.
Transfer and postings of all officers of the Delhi government were under the executive control of the lieutenant governor before the May 11 verdict of the apex court.