Miffed at Maken against supporting Kejriwal, AAP says Centre can bring similar ordinance in Karnataka

New Delhi: The central government can also bring the ordinance on control of services in Karnataka and other states in the future, Senior AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj said on Wednesday, a day after Congress' Ajay Maken strongly opposed extending any support to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on the issue.

Speaking to the reporters here, Bharadwaj said, "Ajay Maken has been rejoicing over their Karnataka victory but he should remember that the Centre can bring similar ordinance in Karnataka tomorrow and take away the powers of police there. What will they do then? The Congress has become alive after we raised this issue of ordinance, else who knows Ajay Maken here?"

Reacting to the AAP leader's statement, Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit said the Centre cannot bring similar ordinance in other states and that state government laws and powers have been "clearly defined by the Constitution."

"This ordinance relates to the area where there is a difference in opinion. Delhi is an Union Territory and its powers can be granted or taken away by the Parliament. He (Saurabh Bhardwaj) is talking about our state government, he should know that state government laws and powers are clearly defined by the Constitution.

"If Saurabh Bhardwaj does not understand this basic difference, I would like to say that I don't want to indulge in debates by such people," Dikshit told PTI.

Bhardwaj further stated that the Congress is a national party and they will take a decision about the ordinance matter considering their gains and losses, adding that not letting the bill pass in the Parliament is one option for the AAP and the other is to take it to the Supreme Court.

Kejriwal has sought the support of various political parties on the Delhi services issue and on Tuesday, he met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. He also sought Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's support during their meeting earlier this week.

He is appealing to other parties too for support on the issue. The AAP has said that rejecting the proposed legislation to replace the ordinance will be a litmus test for the opposition unity.

The ordinance for setting up a National Capital Civil Service Authority for the transfer of IAS and DANICS cadre officers and disciplinary proceedings against them virtually negated the May 11 Supreme Court order that ruled in favour of the AAP government.