Arvind Kejriwal and Mamata Banerjee to hold talks on Delhi ordinance issue

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, along with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, is scheduled to meet West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata on Tuesday. The purpose of the meeting is to seek support from opposition leaders regarding the Delhi government’s ongoing dispute with the central government over an ordinance related to administrative services in the national capital. Kejriwal and Mann will arrive at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in the afternoon and have a brief meeting with AAP leaders in West Bengal before heading to the state secretariat, Nabanna, to meet Mamata Banerjee, the leader of the Trinamool Congress.

“They are scheduled to have a closed-door meeting at the state secretariat. They may also hold a discussion on probable strategies for next year’s general elections,” a senior TMC leader said. Kejriwal and Mann will leave the West Bengal capital on Tuesday evening.

Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi, has held a meeting with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to discuss the ordinance issue, and Nitish Kumar has pledged full support to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in its ongoing dispute with the central government. Additionally, Kejriwal is expected to meet Uddhav Thackeray, the leader of the Shiv Sena (UBT), and Sharad Pawar, the leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), in Mumbai on Wednesday.

The central government recently issued an ordinance to establish a National Capital Civil Service Authority, which grants the power to transfer officers from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Service (DANICS) cadres, as well as initiate disciplinary proceedings against them. This move follows a Supreme Court decision that delegated control of services, excluding police, public order, and land matters, to the elected government in Delhi. Ordinances must be ratified by Parliament within six months, requiring the government to introduce a bill in both Houses of Parliament for its approval.