Congress Extends Support to AAP Against Delhi Ordinance Ahead of Key Opposition Meet

New Delhi: In a significant development, the Congress party has extended its support to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in their fight against the recent ordinance introduced by the central government. This move comes ahead of a crucial opposition meeting in Bengaluru, aimed at forming an alliance to challenge the ruling BJP in the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal confirmed the party’s stance, stating that they will not support the ordinance on control of services in Delhi. He also expressed confidence that the AAP would participate in the scheduled opposition meeting. AAP leader Raghav Chadha responded to the announcement by highlighting Congress’ unwavering opposition to the Delhi Ordinance.

Congress announces its unequivocal opposition to the Delhi Ordinance. https://t.co/OgTECPJ52M

— Raghav Chadha (@raghav_chadha) July 16, 2023

The Delhi government has strongly criticized the ordinance, labelling it as unconstitutional. The central government had issued the ordinance on May 19, establishing an authority for the transfer and posting of IAS and DANICS officers in Delhi. The AAP government viewed this as an attempt to bypass the Supreme Court’s verdict on service control, which had granted authority to the elected government over services in Delhi, except for police, public order, and land-related matters.

Prior to the Supreme Court ruling on May 11, the transfer and postings of all Delhi government officers were under the control of the Lieutenant Governor. However, the recent ordinance seeks to establish a National Capital Civil Service Authority to handle the transfer and disciplinary actions of Group-A officers.