“I urge Prime Minister Narendra Modi to withdraw the ordinance. It looks like the days before Emergency. Modi government is insulting the people of Delhi state and stifling the democratically-elected popular government of Aam Aadmi Party. These kind of ordinances are a danger to democracy, a challenge to democracy,” KCR said at a joint press conference with Kejriwal, who was accompanied by Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann and his other party colleagues, Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha.

Watch Live: Joint Press Conference of Telangana CM Sri KCR, Delhi CM Sri @ArvindKejriwal & Punjab CM Sri @BhagwantMann. https://t.co/saDiST4Iye

— BRS Party (@BRSparty) May 27, 2023

“We will fight against this kind of ordinance in Parliament. People will teach a lesson to the BJP if it does not stop doing these undemocratic things. People have taught a lesson to the BJP in Karnataka. The people of this country are watching,’’ Rao said, adding that the BRS will back the AAP in its fight against the ordinance. He also urged other anti-BJP parties to support it.

Tearing into the BJP dispensation, KCR alleged: “Harassing, stifling, non-cooperation, and using agencies to raid democratically-elected state governments is going on under the Modi government. The AAP government got a good majority not once but three times, but is not being allowed to work. The Modi government has overridden the SC judgment by bringing the Delhi ordinance and it appears that we are heading towards the dark days of Emergency.”

Kejriwal said he was on a countrywide tour to meet the Opposition leaders to mobilise their support against the ordinance. “It is a battle to save democracy, a battle to save the Constitution. The BJP does not have majority in the Rajya Sabha and if all the non-BJP parties unite, we can defeat the ordinance in the RS and it will send a message to the entire nation that BJP can be defeated, Modi can be defeated. The battle to cancel this ordinance will be the semi-final before the 2024 elections and if we defeat this ordinance then we can defeat BJP also. The Modi government does not even honour the SC judgment,’’ he charged.

The Delhi CM also alleged that the Modi government was using the central agencies to “terrorise non-BJP-ruled state governments or purchase MLAs to topple elected governments”. “What is the need for holding Assembly elections when the PM feels that the country can be run with Governors in all the states? The BJP is not allowing any non-BJP government to function smoothly as Governors interfere,’’ he said.

Referring to several non-BJP CMs’ move to skip the meeting of the Governing Council of the NITI Aayog in Delhi Saturday, CM Mann said it was because “Centre does not stick to its promises”. “The BJP government at the Centre holds meetings but does what it wants to do. They have not released anything to Punjab after the last meeting,’’ he claimed.