Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann
On Thursday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann arrived in Ranchi, where they will meet Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren to seek his assistance in their battle against the ordinance governing administrative services in the national capital. The two chief ministers arrived around 9 p.m. on a special flight from Chennai.
They will meet with Soren on Friday, and the three leaders will then hold a press conference.
They met with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin earlier in the day, who accused the Centre of fomenting a crisis in non-BJP-ruled states.
Kejriwal, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief, has been reaching out to leaders of non-BJP parties to rally opposition to the ordinance so that the Centre’s attempt to replace it through a bill is defeated when it is introduced in Parliament.
So far, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee have all backed the AAP.
Nitish Kumar, the Chief Minister of Bihar and the leader of the JD(U), and his deputy Tejaswi Yadav have also backed Kejriwal in this matter.
The Centre had promulgated an ordinance on May 19 to establish an authority for the transfer and posting of Group-A officers in Delhi, which the AAP government had called a sham in light of the Supreme Court’s decision on control of services.
The ordinance was issued a week after the Supreme Court handed over control of services in Delhi to the elected government, with the exception of police, public order, and land.
It proposes establishing a National Capital Civil Service Authority to oversee the transfer and disciplinary proceedings of Group-A officers from the DANICS cadre.
Within six months of the ordinance’s promulgation, the Centre must introduce a bill in Parliament to replace it. Prior to the top court’s May 11 decision, all officers in the Delhi government were subject to the executive control of the lieutenant governor.
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