Amid confusion over the Congress' stance on the Centre's Delhi ordinance, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal told Rahul Gandhi to forget the differences and move forward together at the Opposition meeting in Patna but he did not show any interest in his request.
On the other hand, Congress leader and former Union Minister Ajay Maken sought to remind Kejriwal of his support for the BJP Government’s decision to strip Jammu and Kashmir of similar powers in 2019. AAP sources said, “Arvind Kejriwal spoke directly to Rahul (on the ordinance matter) and said if there is any issue, they can resolve it over tea. In the opposition meeting on Friday, Kejriwal said there is a need to forget the differences and move forward together”.
Given the situation, he said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is yet to decide if it will attend the opposition parties' next meeting scheduled in Shimla. The plan of action is expected to be formulated at another meeting to be chaired by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, tentatively on July 10 or 12, in Shimla. According to AAP Sources, Rahul reportedly told AAP leaders “Your eagerness for the meeting appears mischievous. Taking a dig at Kejriwal, Congress leader Ajay Maken said Kejriwal is doing all this to avoid going to
jail. “The AAP party, which has only 1 Lok Sabha member out of 542, also wanted support from the Congress- And Kejriwal ji was saying good and bad to its leaders as well? Is this the way to ask for support? Kejriwal is doing all this to avoid going to jail, the people of the country have already come to know about it! But when corruption has been committed, then the punishment has to be meted out, this is the rule of law!,”Maken tweeted after the press statement issued by AAP.
AAP sources claimed that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee at the meeting intervened and said Gandhi and Kejriwal should sit together for lunch so that all the issues get addressed.
But insiders said West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and others to calm tempers when Congress and the AAP, which went into the meeting with a pre-condition for a grand alliance, had a heated exchange over the Centre's controversial Ordinance aimed at clipping the Delhi government's hold over its own bureaucracy.
