Hyderabad: Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao on Saturday said that the Centre’s services ordinance is ‘reminiscent of the Emergency’ issued by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975 and demanded that it be taken back.
“…Even the Supreme Court’s judgment is being undermined by bringing in an ordinance. This is reminiscent of the Emergency. This is the Emergency that PM Modi and the BJP leaders keep raising their voices about. This is exactly the same… isn’t it?… the Allahabad HC judgment was nullified by bringing in a constitutional amendment. This is the same model,” KCR said, extending support to the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government in the Rajya Sabha to bring down the bill on this subject.
Addressing a press conference at the Pragathi Bhavan along with chief ministers of Delhi and Punjab Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann, the BRS chief said that even Indira Gandhi was brought down from power by listening to the call of Jayaprakash Narayan.
“…And after that, the Janata Party which was voted to power was brought down by the same people and Indira Gandhi won. India reacts,” he remarked.
KCR further said that by bringing in such an ordinance, the Modi government in centre “has not insulted Arvind Kejriwal with this ordinance but has insulted the people of Delhi,” adding that the Delhi government has won by public mandate. “It has not been nominated by anybody. People will teach a lesson,” he said.
Kejriwal thanked KCR for extending the support of the BRS towards AAP’s fight against the services ordinance.
Addressing the press conference, Kejriwal said that after 8 years of the Delhi government’s battle with the centre, the Supreme Court cancelled the centre’s gazette notification and in only a period of 8 days, the centre issued this ordinance and flipped the SC order.
“If the Prime Minister says that he doesn’t uphold the Supreme Court’s orders, then there is no place to get justice. How will the country run like this,” he remarked.
Kejriwal said that if people by mandate vote non-BJP parties to power, the BJP-led centre doesn’t ‘let them function’. “Either they purchase MLAs, break MLAs by sending in ED and CBI or they bring in ordinances through the Governors just similar to what is happening in Telangana with the Governor,” he said.
The Delhi chief minister further said that if all the non-BJP parties come together and defeat this ordinance in the Rajya Sabha, the people of India will be assured of the defeat of the BJP in 2024. “This will give confidence to people that Modiji can be defeated,” he added.
Speaking after KCR and Kejriwal, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann said that even with a huge mandate of the AAP in Punjab, the centre is creating hurdles by using the state Governor. “Raj Bhavans have become BJP offices and the Governors are BJP’s star campaigners. They have held bills across the country from Tamil Nadu to West Bengal,” Mann said.
