AAP Threatens to Boycott Oppn Meet if Congress Doesn’t Oppose Centre’s Ordinance; Party Responds

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday threatened to skip the meeting of opposition leaders in Patna on Friday if Congress does not back it against the Centre’s ordinance on the control of administrative services in Delhi.

Quoting party sources, a PTI report said AAP will boycott the mega opposition meeting if the Congress doesn’t support the party on the issue of the Delhi ordinance. “The AAP will stage a walkout of the meeting if the Congress does not promise its support against the ordinance,” a source said.

Reacting to AAP’s ultimatum, Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit said Arvind Kejriwal will not be missed if he chooses to skip the meeting.

“No one will miss him (Arvind Kejriwal) if he doesn’t attend the meeting. We always knew that he was searching for excuses to not go to this meeting. Also, he must have got an order from the higher-ups to not take part in the meeting,” Dikshit said in a video message.

Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar called the meeting of opposition parties to formulate a joint strategy to take on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal is also slated to attend the meeting along with other opposition leaders.

On Tuesday, Kejriwal expressed hope that the Congress would clear its stand on the Centre’s ordinance on the control of administrative services in Delhi at the meeting of opposition parties in Patna.

The Delhi CM has been rallying for the support of non-BJP parties against the ordinance to block it from becoming law.