Congress Takes Stand against Centre’s Ordinance, to Oppose in Parliament

15-07-2023 : The Congress party has put an end to the suspense surrounding its stance on the Centre’s ordinance concerning control over bureaucracy in Delhi. Just two days before hosting an opposition meeting in Bengaluru, the Congress announced that it will oppose all assaults by the Modi government on the constitutional rights and responsibilities of democratically elected state governments and local bodies, both within and outside Parliament.

During a meeting of the Congress’ parliamentary strategy group in preparation for the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament starting on July 20, Jairam Ramesh, the AICC General Secretary in Charge of Communications, stated that the Congress has consistently fought against the Modi government’s encroachments on the constitutional rights and responsibilities of democratically elected state governments and local bodies. He emphasized that the party has always opposed such assaults in Parliament and will continue to do so.

This statement holds significance as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had demanded clarity on the Congress’ position regarding the ordinance before attending the opposition parties’ meetings. The next meeting of opposition parties is scheduled to take place on July 17 and 18 in Bengaluru, and AAP is one of the 24 parties invited to participate.

Until now, the Congress had remained tight-lipped about whether it would oppose the ordinance during the Monsoon Session of Parliament. The Congress leadership had refrained from expressing its stance due to the opposition voiced by its leaders in Delhi and Punjab, both states governed by the AAP, who strongly opposed extending any support to AAP.

During the first meeting of opposition parties in Patna, a brief confrontation occurred between Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal regarding the ordinance. Kejriwal had demanded that the Congress publicly state its position on the ordinance that day. Kharge responded by asserting that the Congress cannot be coerced into making statements or taking actions and assured Kejriwal that his party would never support anything unconstitutional.

In addition, the Congress has decided to oppose the Data Protection Bill, which is listed for discussion during the Monsoon Session. Ramesh stated that the Congress opposes the bill in its current form, noting that a parliamentary committee had studied the bill for two and a half years and submitted a report, but none of the committee’s recommendations were incorporated into the bill.

Furthermore, the Congress plans to oppose the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill and the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill. The party also intends to raise various issues in the upcoming session of Parliament, including the unrest in Manipur, allegations made by women wrestlers against Lok Sabha MP Brij Bhushan Singh, and the demand for the establishment of a joint parliamentary committee to investigate the allegations against Gautam Adani.