Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said that he will meet West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on May 23 and then presidents of all opposition parties across the country in coming days to seek support against the Centre bringing an ordinance to give the control of ‘services’ back to the Delhi Lieutenant Governor.

He said on May 23, he will go to Kolkata and meet the West Bengal Chief Minister at 3 pm.

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It was announced by Kejriwal after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, along with his deputy and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav, met him at his residence in the National Capital.

The Delhi Chief Minister will also meet Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray this week in Mumbai to seek support against the Centre’s ordinance on the transfer of bureaucrats in the National Capital.

Kejriwal will meet Thackeray on May 24 and Pawar on May 25.

Addressing the media after his meeting with the Bihar Chief Minister, Kejriwal announced his upcoming meetings with prominent opposition leaders.

The Delhi Chief Minister is scheduled to meet the West Bengal Chief Minister on May 23, followed by discussions with presidents of all opposition parties across the country.

“We seek their support against the Centre’s unjust ordinance,” he said.

Kejriwal said the Bihar Chief Minister is currently involved in a movement that is trying to bring all the opposition parties on a common platform. The idea is to unite all the non-BJP parties, the Delhi Chief Minister said.

“I have requested him that after the opposition parties unite, we would urge them to stand for the people of Delhi in the Rajya Sabha and oppose the illegal ordinance that has been promulgated by the Central Government. If this Bill is introduced in the Rajya Sabha, then we will get the opposition parties to defeat the government, and if we successfully manage to do that, then in some sense this will be a semifinal before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. An important message will be sent to the people across the country that in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections that the BJP government is on its way out,” he said.

Kejriwal added that he will be meeting other senior leaders of the opposition including West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee in the coming days.

“On Tuesday, I will be meeting the Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee at 3 pm. After that one by one, I will go and meet the political leaders of all the other parties across the country. I have today also requested Nitish Kumar that he speak to other opposition leaders on this issue faced by the people of Delhi. I will also continue to meet all the political leaders and formally request them to defeat this Bill if it is presented in the Rajya Sabha,” he said.

The Central government has brought an ordinance to set up a permanent authority known as the National Capital Civil Service Authority, whose Chairperson will the Delhi Chief Minister, and comprise the Chief Secretary and Principal Secretary, Home, to make recommendations to the Delhi LG regarding matters concerning transfer posting, vigilance and other incidental matters. However, in case of difference of opinion, the decision of the LG shall be final.

On May 11, a five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court ruled that it is ideal to hold that a democratically elected Delhi government should have control over its officers and the LG is bound by the advice of the elected government in everything other than public order, police, and land.

The top court stressed that if the government is not able to control and hold to account the officers posted in its service, then its responsibility towards the legislature as well as the public is diluted. The ordinance came days after the court verdict.

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