Reports say Congress will back Kejriwal over Delhi Ordinance row

Reports say Congress will back Kejriwal over Delhi Ordinance row

Reports say Congress will back Kejriwal over Delhi Ordinance row

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi in Delhi amid efforts to strengthen the opposition unity ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Reports said both Nitish and Kharge discussed the roadmap for strengthening opposition unity and a possible meeting of Opposition leaders at their meeting held at the Congress chief's 10, Rajaji Marg residence.

Congress General Secretary (Organisation) K.C. Venugopal and JD(U) chief Lalan Singh were also present during the meeting.

Venugopal later told reporters that a "vast majority" of non-BJP parties will meet soon and that the venue and date of the meeting will be announced in a day or two.

Kharge said he discussed the current political situation with Nitish. "The country will be united now. The strength of democracy is our message. Rahul Gandhi and myself discussed the current political situation with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today and took forward the process of giving a new direction to the country,” he said in a tweet.

Nitish had on Sunday met Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and extended support in the latter's tussle with the Centre over the control of administrative services. The Narendra Modi government on Friday had promulgated an ordinance to create a National Capital Civil Service Authority for the transfer of IAS and DANICS cadre officers and disciplinary proceedings against them in the national capital. 

Kejriwal, who is making an all-out effort to garner the support of opposition parties to defeat a bill which the Centre is likely to bring in parliament to ratify the ordinance, will meet West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray later this week. 

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav have already come in support of Kejriwal over the issue.

Meanwhile, NDTV reported on Monday that the Congress party, too, has decided to oppose the Centre's executive order on transfers and postings in Delhi in the monsoon session of parliament.

Last week, the swearing-in of Siddaramaiah government in Karnataka had turned into a show of strength by the opposition. Besides Nitish and Pawar, RJ(D) leader Tejashwi Yadav, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, Tamil Nadu CM M.K. Stalin and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah attended the ceremony.