Aam Aadmi Party MP Raghav Chadha on Thursday hit back at Union home minister Amit Shah’s speech over the Delhi ordinance in the Lok Sabha.
“Rather than mentioning about statements of Pandit Nehru, Sardar Patel and BR Ambedkar, he (Amit Shah) should see statements of his own party leaders made during 1980s-90s. Lal Krishna Advani had brought Delhi Statehood Bill in 2003 aiming to give Delhi the status of a full-fledged state”, Chadha told news agency PTI.
While addressing the Lok Sabha, Shah had said,”Pt Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Rajaji, Rajendra Prasad and Dr Ambedkar were opposed to Delhi being given the status of a full state”.
During his speech, the home minister hit out at the Aam Aadmi Party, accusing it of opposing the ordinance to get control of the vigilance and hide the ‘truth’ behind chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s official residence renovation.
“In the year 2015, a party came to power in Delhi whose only motive was to fight, not serve…The problem is not getting the right to do transfer postings, but getting control of the vigilance department to hide their corruption like building their bungalows”, he said.
The AAP has been at loggerheads with the Centre over the ordinance which creates an authority for the transfer and posting of Group-A officers in Delhi. On May 11, the Supreme Court had ruled that Delhi’s elected government has control over services in the national capital, excluding matters related to public order, police and land.
But on May 19, the Centre promulgated the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023. The Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government has already challenged the ordinance in the top court. Kejriwal has even toured the country and met leaders of other opposition parties to ensure that the bill is not passed in Rajya Sabha, where the NDA does not have a majority.
