Kejriwal, Mann reach Ranchi to meet Soren over ordinance

Earlier in the day, Kejriwal and Bhagwant mann met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin who accused the Centre of creating a crisis in the non-BJP ruled states.

Ranchi: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday reached Ranchi where they will meet Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren to get his support in their fight against the ordinance over control of administrative services in the national capital.

The two chief ministers arrived on a special flight from Chennai around 9 pm. They will meet Soren on Friday, and the three leaders are then expected to address a press conference. Earlier in the day, they met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin who accused the Centre of creating a crisis in the non-BJP ruled states.

Kejriwal, the chief of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), has been reaching out to leaders of non-BJP parties to garner support against the ordinance so that the Centre's bid to replace it through a bill is defeated when it is brought in Parliament. CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee have so far extended their support to the AAP.

Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar as well as his deputy Tejaswi Yadav have also supported Kejriwal in the matter. The Centre had on May 19 promulgated the ordinance to create an authority for the transfer and posting of Group-A officers in Delhi, which the AAP government had called a deception with the Supreme Court verdict on control of services.

The ordinance came a week after the apex court handed over the control of services in Delhi, excluding police, public order and land, to the elected government. It seeks to set up a National Capital Civil Service Authority for the transfer of and disciplinary proceedings against Group-A officers from the DANICS cadre.

The Centre will have to bring a bill in Parliament to replace the ordinance within six months of its promulgation. Transfer and postings of all officers of the Delhi government were under the executive control of the lieutenant governor before the top court's May 11 verdict. (PTI)