The Evening Wrap: Punjab, Delhi Congress leaders urge high command not to back AAP on Delhi row

Senior Congress leaders from Delhi and Punjab met at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) on the issue of support to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in its fight against the Centre’s ordinance that effectively negates the Supreme Court verdict which gave the AAP-led Delhi government control over services. Leader of the Opposition in Punjab Assembly Partap Singh Bajwa, senior Delhi Congress leaders Ajay Maken and Sandeep Dikshit, who were among those who attended May 23rd meeting, took to social media platforms to oppose any support for the AAP. In a statement, posted on his Twitter handle, Maken explained the political as well as legal reason why the Congress should not back Kejriwal. Citing political reasons, Maken said that Kejriwal sought the Congress’ support but in the past along with the BJP passed a resolution requesting the Union government to withdraw the Bharat Ratna bestowed upon former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Kejriwal backed the BJP both inside and outside of Parliament on the Jammu & Kashmir issue, supported the BJP during the move to impeach CJI Dipak Mishra on various charges. Was the first to implement the controversial anti-farmer laws and his party also opposed the Opposition’s candidate for the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson and instead supported the BJP-sponsored candidate,” Maken said. He added that the AAP fought the Assembly elections in Gujarat, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Assam, Uttarakhand, and Karnataka elections which were all States where the Congress was the primary Opposition or the ruling party and put up candidates against the Congress which only helped the BJP. Giving a legal reason not to support the AAP, Maken said that paragraph 95 of the Supreme Court decision on May 11 order allows the Union government to modify the law. It states, “However, if Parliament enacts a law granting executive power on any subject within the domain of NCTD, the executive power of the Lieutenant Governor shall be modified to the extent, as provided in that law.” Talking about administrative reasons, Maken said that the principles of cooperative federalism did not fit in Delhi’s context as it was not just a State or Union Territory but the National Capital belonging to the Union and, thus, to every Indian citizen. “As the National Capital, the Union government annually spends approximately ₹37,500 crores on various services, a burden not shared by the Delhi government,” Maken said. While Maken took to Twitter to argue why the Congress should not support the AAP, Bajwa strongly endorsed his views. “@AamAadmiParty & @ArvindKejriwal deserve no support or sympathy from @INCIndia. @AAPPunjab govt has launched ruthless witch-hunt against @INCPunjab leaders and workers and has made their lives hell by misusing the police and investigation agencies,” tweeted Bajwa. He urged the party high command to take the views of State units of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Karnataka to find out how the AAP politically helped the BJP and called Kejriwal’s party a “B team of the BJP”. He added, “Let’s not protect a wolf in sheep’s clothing”. Former Congress MP Sandeep Dixit also tweeted in Hindi against the decision by sharing a video in which Kejriwal is calling for the arrest of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and said “Can we forget those poisonous lies and foul language — nothing is bigger than self-respect.” Extending support to Kejriwal, Mamata urges Opposition to vote against Delhi ordinance in Rajya Sabha Extending support to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kerjiwal against the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on May 23 urged all Opposition parties to oppose the ordinance in the Rajya Sabha. With Kejriwal by her side, Banerjee said that the ordinance has provided all the Opposition parties a “big opportunity” to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP) before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The Trinamool Congress chairperson said that if the Opposition can stall the ordinance it will give a strong message to the people. “From our party we have decided to oppose the ordinance in Rajya Sabha,” she said. Emphasising that Delhi government employees are under the Delhi government, Banerjee said that such ordinances are dangerous for the country. “We are afraid that they will change the name of the country and keep it on the name of their party. We are afraid that they will change the Constitution,” the West Bengal Chief Minister said addressing a press conference with Kejriwal and other leaders of Aam Aadmi Party including Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann by her side. Kejriwal said that the Supreme Court order that Delhi government can make laws and administer civil services in the national capital came after a fight for eight long years and the BJP government overturned it in eight days. “They have made a joke of democracy,” he said. The AAP national convenor added that there were three ways by which the BJP was trying to disturb the elected government of the Opposition parties: either by buying MLAs, or using central investigating agencies, and third was by using Governors and ordinances. “This is not my fight alone. It is the fight of 140 crore people. It is the fight against the arrogance of the BJP that if people do not vote for BJP they will not let the Opposition government work,” he said. The Delhi Chief Minister said that in several states like West Bengal and Punjab, Governors were trying to interfere with the functioning of the State governments. Kejriwal said that the police misbehaved with Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia while producing him before a court in Delhi. “This is not the way to treat a Deputy Chief Minister. He is an accused not a convict,” the Delhi Chief Minister said. The CBI had earlier this year arrested Sisodia in a case related to alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of the excise policy of Delhi. Banerjee also added that those who came to hand over summons to Abhishek Banerjeee also came at 2.30 am and spoke in a threatening tone. Before meeting the West Bengal Chief Minister, the Delhi Chief Minister had met Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Patna on the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023 brought by the Union government on May 19. A Constitution Bench headed by the Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud on May 11 held that the Delhi government can make laws and administer civil services in the national capital. Prior to this meeting, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Janata Dal (Secular) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy had met Banerjee at the State Secretariat and discussed the issue of Opposition unity for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Ex-MLA arrested for Manipur violence was Deputy Speaker A former Manipur MLA arrested on May 23 for allegedly instigating a fresh round of violence in Imphal was a Deputy Speaker in the 60-member State Assembly. A combined team of security forces caught ex-MLA Telvum Thangzalang Haokip along with two armed men on May 22 from New Checkon in the Imphal West district. The area has a mix of Kuki, Meitei and other ethnic groups. Manipur Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren Singh told journalists in Imphal that the ex-MLA was behind the conspiracy to trigger another round of unrest in the strife-torn State where at least 71 people were killed and 35,000 displaced more than a fortnight ago. “The ex-MLA and two others were formally arrested today [Tuesday],” an Imphal West police officer said. Haokip became the Deputy Speaker after winning the byelection to the Henglep Assembly constituency on a Congress ticket in 1998. Henglep is in Churachandpur, one of the worst affected districts by the violence that unfolded on May 3. He won the Henglep seat for the second time, this time as a BJP candidate, in 2017 by defeating his nearest Congress rival by 268 votes. In 2017, he was appointed as the chairman of the Hill Areas Committee (HAC), the highest body in Manipur at the legislative level to oversee the planning, implementation, and monitoring of all developmental activities in the State’s hill districts. But he quit the committee before his term in 2020 following differences with Singh and joined Congress that year. But Haokip joined the Shiv Sena ahead of the 2022 Assembly election to contest the Henglep seat. He garnered 2,605 votes to finish third behind his BJP and Congress rivals. Meanwhile, officials in Manipur said the law-and-order situation has been under control since the flare-up in the New Checkon area on Monday. Mobile internet and broadband services continued to be suspended and the curfew in Imphal and other violence-hit areas relaxed for eight hours from 5 a.m. RBI defends before Delhi HC ₹2,000 banknote exchange exercise The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday told the Delhi High Court that withdrawal of ₹2,000 notes is not demonetisation but a statutory exercise, and the decision to enable their exchange was taken for operational convenience. The court was hearing a plea by lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay that the notifications by the RBI and SBI enabling exchange of ₹2,000 banknotes without proof were arbitrary and against the laws enacted to curb corruption. A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad said it will pass an appropriate order on the public interest litigation by the lawyer. “We will look into it. We will pass an appropriate order,” said the court. Mr. Upadhyay clarified that he was not challenging the decision to withdraw ₹2,000 banknote but assailed the exchange of the currency without any slip or identity proof. He asserted that the exchange of ₹2,000 banknote should be allowed through deposit in bank account. “Why is ID proof excluded? Every poor has a Jan Dhan account. BPL persons are also connected to bank accounts,” Mr. Upadhyay said while claiming that the present arrangement would only enable mafias and gangsters like “Atiq Ahmed’s henchmen” as well as Naxals. Senior advocate Parag P. Tripathi, for the RBI, emphasised that the court cannot interfere in such matters and the decision was taken to allow exchange of the ₹2,000 currency note for operational convenience. “This is not demonetisation. ₹2,000 banknote was not commonly used. Other denominations continue to meet currency requirements,” he said. “This is a statutory exercise. None of the points claimed by the petitioner impinge or deal with constitutional issues,” Mr. Tripathi added. “Arguments heard. Judgement reserved,” the court said after hearing the parties. In Brief: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the strongest and biggest foundations of India-Australia relations are mutual trust and mutual respect, and the real reason behind this is the Indian diaspora. Mr. Modi made the remarks while addressing a community event at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena which was attended by more than 21,000 people from across Australia. The event was also attended by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 23 May 2023 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( Punjab, Delhi Congress leaders urge high command not to back AAP in fight against Centre’s ordinance Senior [Congress leaders from Delhi and Punjab met at the All India Congress Committee (AICC)]( on the issue of support to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in its fight against the Centre’s ordinance that effectively negates the Supreme Court verdict which gave the AAP-led Delhi government control over services. Leader of the Opposition in Punjab Assembly Partap Singh Bajwa, senior Delhi Congress leaders Ajay Maken and Sandeep Dikshit, who were among those who attended May 23rd meeting, took to social media platforms to oppose any support for the AAP. In a statement, posted on his Twitter handle, Maken explained the political as well as legal reason why the Congress should not back Kejriwal. Citing political reasons, Maken said that Kejriwal sought the Congress’ support but in the past along with the BJP passed a resolution requesting the Union government to withdraw the Bharat Ratna bestowed upon former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Kejriwal backed the BJP both inside and outside of Parliament on the Jammu & Kashmir issue, supported the BJP during the move to impeach CJI Dipak Mishra on various charges. Was the first to implement the controversial anti-farmer laws and his party also opposed the Opposition’s candidate for the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson and instead supported the BJP-sponsored candidate,” Maken said. He added that the AAP fought the Assembly elections in Gujarat, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Assam, Uttarakhand, and Karnataka elections which were all States where the Congress was the primary Opposition or the ruling party and put up candidates against the Congress which only helped the BJP. Giving a legal reason not to support the AAP, Maken said that paragraph 95 of the Supreme Court decision on May 11 order allows the Union government to modify the law. It states, “However, if Parliament enacts a law granting executive power on any subject within the domain of NCTD, the executive power of the Lieutenant Governor shall be modified to the extent, as provided in that law.” Talking about administrative reasons, Maken said that the principles of cooperative federalism did not fit in Delhi’s context as it was not just a State or Union Territory but the National Capital belonging to the Union and, thus, to every Indian citizen. “As the National Capital, the Union government annually spends approximately ₹37,500 crores on various services, a burden not shared by the Delhi government,” Maken said. While Maken took to Twitter to argue why the Congress should not support the AAP, Bajwa strongly endorsed his views. “@AamAadmiParty & @ArvindKejriwal deserve no support or sympathy from @INCIndia. @AAPPunjab govt has launched ruthless witch-hunt against @INCPunjab leaders and workers and has made their lives hell by misusing the police and investigation agencies,” tweeted Bajwa. He urged the party high command to take the views of State units of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Karnataka to find out how the AAP politically helped the BJP and called Kejriwal’s party a “B team of the BJP”. He added, “Let’s not protect a wolf in sheep’s clothing”. Former Congress MP Sandeep Dixit also tweeted in Hindi against the decision by sharing a video in which Kejriwal is calling for the arrest of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and said “Can we forget those poisonous lies and foul language — nothing is bigger than self-respect.” Extending support to Kejriwal, Mamata urges Opposition to vote against Delhi ordinance in Rajya Sabha Extending support to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kerjiwal against the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023, West Bengal Chief Minister [Mamata Banerjee on May 23 urged all Opposition parties to oppose the ordinance]( in the Rajya Sabha. With Kejriwal by her side, Banerjee said that the ordinance has provided all the Opposition parties a “big opportunity” to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP) before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The Trinamool Congress chairperson said that if the Opposition can stall the ordinance it will give a strong message to the people. “From our party we have decided to oppose the ordinance in Rajya Sabha,” she said. Emphasising that Delhi government employees are under the Delhi government, Banerjee said that such ordinances are dangerous for the country. “We are afraid that they will change the name of the country and keep it on the name of their party. We are afraid that they will change the Constitution,” the West Bengal Chief Minister said addressing a press conference with Kejriwal and other leaders of Aam Aadmi Party including Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann by her side. Kejriwal said that the Supreme Court order that Delhi government can make laws and administer civil services in the national capital came after a fight for eight long years and the BJP government overturned it in eight days. “They have made a joke of democracy,” he said. The AAP national convenor added that there were three ways by which the BJP was trying to disturb the elected government of the Opposition parties: either by buying MLAs, or using central investigating agencies, and third was by using Governors and ordinances. “This is not my fight alone. It is the fight of 140 crore people. It is the fight against the arrogance of the BJP that if people do not vote for BJP they will not let the Opposition government work,” he said. The Delhi Chief Minister said that in several states like West Bengal and Punjab, Governors were trying to interfere with the functioning of the State governments. Kejriwal said that the police misbehaved with Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia while producing him before a court in Delhi. “This is not the way to treat a Deputy Chief Minister. He is an accused not a convict,” the Delhi Chief Minister said. The CBI had earlier this year arrested Sisodia in a case related to alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of the excise policy of Delhi. Banerjee also added that those who came to hand over summons to Abhishek Banerjeee also came at 2.30 am and spoke in a threatening tone. Before meeting the West Bengal Chief Minister, the Delhi Chief Minister had met Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Patna on the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023 brought by the Union government on May 19. A Constitution Bench headed by the Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud on May 11 held that the Delhi government can make laws and administer civil services in the national capital. Prior to this meeting, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Janata Dal (Secular) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy had met Banerjee at the State Secretariat and discussed the issue of Opposition unity for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Ex-MLA arrested for Manipur violence was Deputy Speaker A former Manipur MLA arrested on May 23 for allegedly instigating a fresh round of violence in Imphal was a Deputy Speaker in the 60-member State Assembly. A combined team of security forces caught ex-MLA Telvum Thangzalang Haokip along with two armed men on May 22 from New Checkon in the Imphal West district. The area has a mix of Kuki, Meitei and other ethnic groups. Manipur Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren Singh told journalists in Imphal that the ex-MLA was behind the conspiracy to trigger another round of unrest in the strife-torn State where at least 71 people were killed and 35,000 displaced more than a fortnight ago. “The ex-MLA and two others were formally arrested today [Tuesday],” an Imphal West police officer said. [Haokip became the Deputy Speaker]( after winning the byelection to the Henglep Assembly constituency on a Congress ticket in 1998. Henglep is in Churachandpur, one of the worst affected districts by the violence that unfolded on May 3. He won the Henglep seat for the second time, this time as a BJP candidate, in 2017 by defeating his nearest Congress rival by 268 votes. In 2017, he was appointed as the chairman of the Hill Areas Committee (HAC), the highest body in Manipur at the legislative level to oversee the planning, implementation, and monitoring of all developmental activities in the State’s hill districts. But he quit the committee before his term in 2020 following differences with Singh and joined Congress that year. But Haokip joined the Shiv Sena ahead of the 2022 Assembly election to contest the Henglep seat. He garnered 2,605 votes to finish third behind his BJP and Congress rivals. Meanwhile, officials in Manipur said the law-and-order situation has been under control since the flare-up in the New Checkon area on Monday. Mobile internet and broadband services continued to be suspended and the curfew in Imphal and other violence-hit areas relaxed for eight hours from 5 a.m. RBI defends before Delhi HC ₹2,000 banknote exchange exercise The [Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday told the Delhi High Court]( that withdrawal of ₹2,000 notes is not demonetisation but a statutory exercise, and the decision to enable their exchange was taken for operational convenience. The court was hearing a plea by lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay that the notifications by the RBI and SBI enabling exchange of ₹2,000 banknotes without proof were arbitrary and against the laws enacted to curb corruption. A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad said it will pass an appropriate order on the public interest litigation by the lawyer.  “We will look into it. We will pass an appropriate order,” said the court. Mr. Upadhyay clarified that he was not challenging the decision to withdraw ₹2,000 banknote but assailed the exchange of the currency without any slip or identity proof. He asserted that the exchange of ₹2,000 banknote should be allowed through deposit in bank account.  “Why is ID proof excluded? Every poor has a Jan Dhan account. BPL persons are also connected to bank accounts,” Mr. Upadhyay said while claiming that the present arrangement would only enable mafias and gangsters like “Atiq Ahmed’s henchmen” as well as Naxals. Senior advocate Parag P. Tripathi, for the RBI, emphasised that the court cannot interfere in such matters and the decision was taken to allow exchange of the ₹2,000 currency note for operational convenience.  “This is not demonetisation. ₹2,000 banknote was not commonly used. Other denominations continue to meet currency requirements,” he said. “This is a statutory exercise. None of the points claimed by the petitioner impinge or deal with constitutional issues,” Mr. Tripathi added. “Arguments heard. Judgement reserved,” the court said after hearing the parties. In Brief: [Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said]( that the strongest and biggest foundations of India-Australia relations are mutual trust and mutual respect, and the real reason behind this is the Indian diaspora. Mr. Modi made the remarks while addressing a community event at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena which was attended by more than 21,000 people from across Australia. The event was also attended by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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