Congress ends suspense, to oppose Delhi ordinance in parliament

Two days ahead of the opposition meeting it is hosting, the Congress on Saturday ended the suspense over its stand on the Centre's ordinance with regard to control over bureaucracy in Delhi. Without naming the ordinance, the party declared that it will oppose all assaults of the Modi government on the Constitutional rights and responsibilities of democratically elected state governments and local bodies both within and outside Parliament.

After a meeting of the Congress' parliamentary strategy group held in view of the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament that begins on July 20, AICC General Secretary in Charge of Communications Jairam Ramesh, in response to questions over the Delhi ordinance, said: “The Congress party has always fought against the Modi government's assaults on the Constitutional rights and responsibilities of democratically elected state governments and local bodies.”

“There are assaults that are made directly and through appointees. The  Congress party has always opposed such assaults in Parliament and outside it and will continue to oppose it,” Ramesh said.

The statement gains significance in view of the Aam Aadmi Party's demand that the Congress should make its stand on the ordinance clear and only then will it attend meetings of the opposition parties. The next meeting of the opposition parties is scheduled to be held on July 17 and 18 in Bengaluru. AAP is one of the 24 parties invited to take part in the meeting.

The Congress had so far kept its cards close to its chest with regard to whether it will oppose the ordinance in the Monsoon Session of Parliament or not. The Congress leadership had desisted from spelling out its stand in the backdrop of its leaders in Delhi and Punjab, the two states ruled by the AAP, conveying to it their strong opposition to any kind of support being offered to AAP.

At the first meeting of the opposition parties in Patna, there was a brief altercation between Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal with regard to the ordinance. Kejriwal had demanded that the Congress should on that day itself make a public statement on what its stand on the ordinance was. Kharge had told him that the Congress could not be forced into saying or doing anything and gave an assurance that his party would never support anything that is unconstitutional.

Meanwhile, the party has decided to oppose the Data Protection Bill that is listed to be taken up during the Monsoon Session. Ramesh said the Congress is opposed to the bill in its present form. He said a parliamentary committee had studied the bill for two-and-a-half years and submitted a report on it, but none of the panel's recommendations have been made a part of the bill.

The Congress will also oppose the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill and the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill.

The party has also decided to raise in the upcoming session of Parliament the unrest in Manipur, the allegations made by women wrestlers against Lok Sabha MP Brij Bhushan Singh and the demand for setting up a joint parliamentary committee to probe into the allegations made against Gautam Adani.