Amid Delhi vs Centre ordinance row, Kejriwal meets NCP chief Sharad Pawar in Mumbai

Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi president Minister and Aam Aadmi Party supremo met with Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar at the Yashwantrao Chavan Centre in Mumbai on Thursday to seek NCP support against the Centre’s law on control of administrative services in the national capital.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, AAP MP Raghav Chadha, Delhi Minister Atishi, and other leaders accompanied Kejriwal to the meeting with the NCP chief. On Wednesday, the Delhi CM also met with Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray.

Kejriwal’s outreach to NCP, Shiv Sena (UBT) to corner the Central Government

On Tuesday, the Delhi Chief Minister started on a statewide tour to rally opposition parties against the federal government’s law restricting bureaucrat transfers and postings in the national capital. Meetings with chiefs of NCP and Shiv Sena (UBT) is part of the outreach to opposition parties.

The national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) accused the Centre of “taking away the rights” of the people of Delhi and said the ordinance “should not” be allowed to pass in Rajya Sabha.

Following the Union Government’s move on May 19, an ordinance was introduced to establish regulations for the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) concerning matters such as transfer, posting, vigilance, and other related aspects.

The ordinance amends the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991, and thereby bypasses the Supreme Court’s decision in the Centre versus Delhi case.

In a prior occurrence, Chief Minister Kejriwal met with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata on Tuesday, where he appealed for her assistance in opposing the ordinance.