Delhi Ordinance Row: DMK Will Strongly Oppose, Says TN CM Stalin After Meeting Kejriwal

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday accused the Centre of creating a crisis in the non-BJP ruled states and said that the ruling DMK would strongly oppose the Central ordinance on control over administrative services in the national capital. Also, the Central government was preventing duly elected governments from functioning independently, he claimed.

''The Centre is creating a crisis to the Aam Aadmi Party and is preventing a duly elected government from functioning independently. Despite the Supreme Court verdict in favour of the AAP government, the Centre brought the ordinance. The DMK will strongly oppose it,'' Stalin, who is president of the DMK, told reporters outside his Alwarpet residence here.

Flanked by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, Stalin described Kejriwal as his ''good friend'' and said the discussion between them on opposing the ordinance was fruitful.

''The Chief Ministers in the non-BJP ruled states and also the political party leaders should extend their support in opposing the ordinance,'' Stalin urged. This sort of healthy discussion among the opposition parties should continue to protect the democracy in the country, he said.

Accusing the BJP-led government of bringing the ordinance nullifying the Supreme Court order, Kejriwal, who air-dashed to Chennai and sought Stalin's support, said the DMK agreed to strongly oppose it and stand by AAP government and the people of Delhi.

''This ordinance should be collectively defeated in the Parliament as it is undemocratic, against the federal structure and unconstitutional,'' he said and termed the coming together of opposition parties to defeat the ordinance as semi-finals to the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

It must be noted that Kejriwal has been receiving crucial backing from opposition parties in his fight against the Central ordinance on administrative services control in the national capital. Nonetheless, Kejriwal has faced difficulties in persuading the Congress party to support him, as the leadership of the grand-old party has not yet arranged a meeting with the Delhi CM.

So far, Kejriwal has held meetings with a number of prominent leaders including Telangana CM K Chandrashekhar Rao, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, Shiv Sena (UBT) supremo Uddhav Thackeray, and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said the DMK government had to put up a fight against a Governor who not only refrained from passing the Assembly bills but also did not read out the speech prepared by the state government.