AAP slams Cong, skips press meet after Oppn meet

June 23, 2023 20:18

Stopping short of staging a walkout at the opposition meeting in Patna on Friday, the Aam Aadmi Party skipped the press briefing and came out with a statement condemning the Congress' "silence" over the Delhi central ordinance.

Party founder Arvind Kejriwal, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Rajya Sabha MPs Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chaddha, who represented AAP at the meeting, were conspicuous by their absence at the press conference.

However, on its official Twitter handle, the party came out with a statement asserting the centrality of the "black ordinance", which "not only aims to snatch democratic rights of an elected government in Delhi but poses a significant threat to India's democracy and constitutional principles".

The statement noted that among the parties that attended the meeting in Patna, "12 have representation in the Rajya Sabha" and "except for the Indian National Congress" all others have "clearly expressed their stand against the ordinance and announced that they would oppose it in the Rajya Sabha".

"The Congress, a national party that takes a stand on almost all issues, is yet to make public its position on the Black Ordinance", the statement rued, adding that Delhi and Punjab units were of the view "the party should support the Modi government on the issue".

At the meeting, many parties urged the Congress to publicly denounce the ordinance but the Congress refused to do so, claimed AAP, adding that the grand old party's "silence raises suspicions about its real intentions".

At the press conference, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who had convened the meeting, sought to downplay the AAP's absence.

"Those who had to catch an early flight could not stay back for the press conference. Don't fixate on that. Pay attention to how many parties have joined us in our endeavour", said the Janaat Dal-United supreme leader. -- PTI

« Back to LIVE

TOP STORIES

Abhishek breaks Kohli's long-standing IPL record

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) young batting sensation Abhishek Sharma made history on Sunday

Hardik's form a blip, says Raina, 'He'll shine vs Pak'

The T20 World Cup will start on June 1 and will be played in venues in the USA and the Caribbean till June 29.

In Pictures - City make history! 4th straight EPL title secured

Manchester City celebrate unprecedented fourth successive league title

Raisi's Instagram post urges Iranians to pray for him

Raisi's condition currently remains unknown, Iranian state news agency IRNA has reported, after the helicopter he was traveling in crashed in the country's East Azerbaijan Province.

KKR await SRH in Qualifier 1; RR face RCB in Eliminator

Rajasthan Royals paid the price for their shoddy show during the business end as a washout of their final IPL league game