Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said at the Opposition meeting here on Friday that the support on the Delhi ordinance issue cannot be put as a precondition for an alliance to fight the BJP and cited the AAP's several "provocative statements" targeting his party, sources said.
Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal, who attended the meeting along with Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi, also hit out at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over its demand, saying that one cannot put a gun to Congress' head and call for negotiations, the sources added.
During the meeting, the Congress president mentioned several instances of AAP's provocative statements against his party, they said.
Kharge also cited the AAP's ultimatum on Thursday that it would walk out of the Opposition meeting if the Congress did not promise its support against the Centre's ordinance on the control of administrative services in Delhi.
The Congress chief said this had vitiated the environment ahead of the meeting.
Kharge noted that AAP regularly attended the meetings of opposition parties, where common and agreeable strategies are worked out.
"Nothing necessitates a different mechanism for the ordinance issue and putting it as a precondition for an alliance to fight the BJP," he was quoted as saying at the meeting by a source.
On the AAP's assertion that the ordinance was unconstitutional, Kharge asserted that his party does not support anything that is unconstitutional but has a mechanism to decide on such issues, sources said.
Claiming the Congress has "refused" to publicly denounce the Centre's ordinance on Delhi's administrative services, the AAP said it will be difficult for it to attend future meetings of opposition parties where the Congress is a participant.
The Congress' silence raises suspicions about its real intentions, the AAP said in a statement after the Opposition meeting.
The Congress and the AAP have been at loggerheads on this issue with the former keeping its stand ambiguous and the latter demanding a public denouncement of the Centre's ordinance.
Asked about the ordinance issue and AAP's ultimatum, Kharge, before leaving for Patna this morning, said his party would take a decision on it before Parliament's Monsoon session and wondered why it was being talked about elsewhere when it was a matter that pertains to Parliament.
"Opposing it or proposing it does not happen outside, it happens in Parliament. Before Parliament (session) begins, all parties decide what issues they have to work on together. They (AAP) know it and even their leaders come to our all-party meetings. I don't know why there is so much publicity about it outside," Kharge said.
"About 18-20 parties decide together on what to oppose and what to accept. So instead of saying anything now, we will take a decision before Parliament (session) begins," he said.
The Centre's ordinance 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.
Transfer and postings of all officers of the Delhi government were under the executive control of the lieutenant governor before the May 11 verdict of the apex court.
-With PTI Input
