Two events in Parliament that seem to have cemented Congress-AAP ties

New Delhi: In the last fortnight, two developments seem to have cemented the recently forged close ties between the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

The relationship between the two warring parties improved after the Congress decided to oppose the Delhi services bill despite strong opposition by its Delhi and Punjab units.

This was the main condition of the AAP to join the INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) grouping and the July 18 meeting of the opposition parties in Bengaluru. The AAP was represented by Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann and other senior leaders at the conclave.

The bonhomie prevailed during the monsoon session of Parliament.

But two developments seem to have further cemented the ties between the two parties.

Firstly, Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi on July 26 walked up to AAP leader Sanjay Singh in the Parliament House complex to reassure him that he has her party's full support. Singh was protesting his suspension from the Rajya Sabha for the rest of the monsoon session for repeatedly violating the directives of the chair while disrupting the proceedings of the House on the Manipur issue.

Sonia Gandhi's move silenced the Delhi and Punjab Congress leaders who were up in arms over their leadership decision to accept the AAP's demand.

Then came a gesture by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that was widely lauded and appreciated by the AAP leaders.

The 90-year-old former Prime Minister came to the Rajya Sabha in a wheelchair to listen to the discussion and register his vote on the Delhi services bill.

AAP leader Raghav Chadha was quick to hail the former Prime Minister and express his gratitude to him.

“Today, in the Rajya Sabha, Dr Manmohan Singh stood as a beacon of integrity and came especially to vote against the black ordinance. His unwavering commitment to democracy and the Constitution is a profound inspiration. My heartfelt gratitude goes out to him for his invaluable support," Chadha wrote on Twitter.

Today, in the Rajya Sabha, Dr. Manmohan Singh stood as a beacon of integrity and came especially to vote against the black ordinance. His unwavering commitment to democracy and the constitution is a profound inspiration. My heartfelt gratitude goes out to him for his invaluable… pic.twitter.com/JhBwUUjQOe

— Raghav Chadha (@raghav_chadha) August 7, 2023

And on Wednesday, Kejriwal expressed gratitude on behalf of the two-crore people of Delhi to the Congress for opposing the Delhi Services Bill in Parliament. In three separate letters to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Dr Manmohan Singh, he appreciated them for defending the rights of the people of Delhi both inside and outside Parliament.

"I would like to place on record my heartfelt appreciation for championing the rights of the people of Delhi both inside and outside the Parliament. I am certain that your unflinching loyalty towards the principles of our Constitution will be remembered for decades," Kejriwal said.

For now, all this is music to Congress' ears, but the moot question is how long it will prevail.

The two were sworn parties till now and the Congress usually blamed Kejriwal and his AAP team for the rise of the BJP and for creating a negative perception about the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government on the issue of corruption through its proxy, insisting that his India Against Corruption (IAC) helped the BJP win the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections.