AAP rally in Ramlila Maidan: Kejriwal returns to home turf to step up ordinance battle against BJP

While the AAP earlier marked its victories at Ramlila Maidan, it has now called upon people to rally around the party at a time when it is facing a tough challenge from the BJP-led central dispensation in the form of an ordinance.

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A poster at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi, ahead of CM Arvind Kejriwal's rally against the Centre's ordinance (Express Photo)

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As Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal addresses a mega rally Sunday at Ramlila Maidan, organised to protest the Centre’s Delhi ordinance, the symbolism of the meeting’s venue will not be lost on many political activists and people in the national capital. It was at Ramlila Maidan that the AAP was formed in November 2012 after months-long anti-corruption movement of 2011-12, which was helmed by social activist Anna Hazare and Kejriwal. Hazare later parted ways when Kejriwal decided to float a political party, which was named AAP.

It was at Ramlila Maidan that the swearing-in ceremony of the three successive Delhi governments formed by the AAP under Kejriwal’s leadership took place in 2013, 2015 and 2020.

The AAP made its electoral debut in the 2013 Delhi Assembly polls and, in a stunning performance, went on to form the government with the support of the Congress. However, Kejriwal then resigned within 49 days over differences with the grand old party. In the 2015 Delhi polls, the AAP however returned to power with a thumping majority, winning 67 of the total 70 seats. It also swept the elections in 2020, when Kejriwal took over as the CM for the third consecutive time.

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Sunday’s rally, however, comes in the backdrop of a difficult situation for the AAP. While the AAP earlier marked its victories at Ramlila Maidan, it has now called upon people to rally around the party at a time when it is facing a tough challenge from the BJP-led central dispensation in the form of an ordinance, which has been promulgated by the Centre to effectively place the Lt Governor as the head of the Delhi government.

The rally also comes at a time when two of the senior-most AAP members and former ministers, Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain, are in jail in connection with two different cases. While Jain has been in prison over a money laundering case, Sisodia was arrested by the CBI and later by the ED for alleged irregularities and corruption in the Delhi Excise Policy case. Both have been denied bail by the courts.

The booster for the AAP government in the form of the Supreme Court verdict, which said that the elected government must have the right to hold its officers to account and decide transfer and posting, was overturned by the ordinance, which paved the way for the formation of a three-member committee, including the CM and two senior bureaucrats, to take decisions on officials’ transfers and posting, with the final veto on it given to the L-G. The ordinance has also empowered senior bureaucrats to flag to the L-G any decisions taken in the cabinet meetings that they deem incorrect or illegal.

Also Read | A look at the SC verdict and the ordinance that followed

Over the past month, Kejriwal has met the CMs of states ruled by non-BJP parties and other top Opposition leaders to garner support against the Delhi ordinance in the Rajya Sabha. It is unlikely, however, that the ordinance will be defeated in the Upper House, when it takes up its bill, given the numerical edge the BJP-led NDA has along with its supporting parties.

Kejriwal has met West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Telangana CM KC Rao, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, with all of them extending their support to the AAP for its fight against the BJP at the Centre. None of them are however expected to be part of Sunday’s maha rally. Their meetings are considered to be part of the exercise towards achieving Opposition unity for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

A senior AAP leader said the rally will be an all-AAP affair. “The rally is about AAP and the people of Delhi. Other political leaders were not supposed to be part of the event. The CM will explain to the people who come to the Ramlila Maidan how BJP is trying to run Delhi when they have been rejected by the people of Delhi. This is a fight for their rights,” a senior party leader said.

Sunday’s rally is also a litmus test for the AAP’s Delhi unit and organisation in terms of the number of people that attend it. “Over the past few months, the number of people attending AAP’s protests and events has dipped. This is because a certain sense of complacency has crept in because the government has been in power for eight years. But our activists on the ground have been working hard and going from door to door to tell people that we need their support and are fighting for their rights,” the party leader said.