Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Saturday demanded that the Centre withdraw its ordinance on control of services in Delhi, after he held a meeting with the chief ministers of Delhi and Punjab.
He made the demand during a joint press conference with Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann who called on him in Hyderabad to discuss the issue of the Centre's ordinance.
Rao alleged that the way the Centre issued the ordinance reminded one of the days of the Emergency.
"(PM) Narendra Modi ji and BJP leaders speak so vociferously against the Emergency. Exactly the same thing happened before the Emergency. Post Allahabad high court judgment, a Constitutional amendment was made nullifying that judgment," Rao said.
Claiming that the National Democratic Alliance government is on a path similar to the imposition of the Emergency by Indira Gandhi in 1975, he asked what is the difference between the Indira Gandhi regime then and the Centre now.
"We demand that the prime minister withdraw the ordinance. Yourself. Or else, we will all support Arvind Kejriwal ji. We will stand by him. We will use all our strength in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to defeat that ordinance and see to it that the ordinance is not passed," he said.
Rao alleged that the NDA government insulted the people of Delhi.
The Centre is not allowing the elected government of Delhi to function and is not honouring the Supreme Court judgment, he alleged.
"Not honouring the Supreme Court's larger bench judgment means going towards Emergency," he said.
He felt that the "whole system" would support Kejriwal as it is a "question of the existence of democracy".
Kejriwal thanked Rao for his support. "People across the country ask where would people go for justice if the Prime Minister does not accept the Supreme Court's orders," the Delhi chief minister said.
"In a way, Prime Minister is challenging the people of Delhi that he would not let the government function, whatever (be) the government elected by the people," he claimed, accusing the Centre of meddling when a non-BJP government is elected by the people in any state.
He alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party either "purchases MLAs, dislodges government or breaks MLAs by sending ED or brings an ordinance misusing the Governor, as seen in different states".
Observing that the BJP does not have a majority in Rajya Sabha, he said if all non-BJP parties defeat the ordinance in the upper house, it will generate confidence among people of the country that the Modi government would not return to power in 2024.
The fight is to safeguard democracy, he said.
Mann alleged that Raj Bhavans have become "BJP offices" and the Governors are BJP's "star campaigners" of the incumbent NDA government at the Centre.
Mann also said he did not attend the NITI Aayog meeting in Delhi on Saturday as what was sought in the last meeting was not given.
"The BJP-led government at the Centre holds meetings but does what it wants to," he said.
The strength of Rao's BRS is nine and seven in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha respectively.
