4 regional players urge PM to resolve tussle between Delhi L-G, AAP govt

New Delhi: The chief ministers of four Indian states met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday and urged him to intervene for solving the tussle between the lieutenant governor and government of Delhi, terming it a “constitutional crisis”

On the sidelines of the governing council meeting of government think tank NITI Aayog, West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee, Andhra Pradesh’s Chandrababu Naidu, Kerala’s Pinarayi Vijayan, and Karnataka’s H D Kumaraswamy requested Modi to resolve the crisis so the “federal structure of the Constitution is maintained”

“I along with the Hon’ble CMs of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala have requested Hon’ble PM today to resolve the problems of Delhi government immediately (sic),” Banerjee tweeted after meeting with Modi

On Saturday, the four chief ministers, after being denied a meeting with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, had announced that they would raise the issue with the prime minister

The leaders had termed the situation “unconstitutional” and said the prime minister should make sure that the problem gets resolved

The open support to Kejriwal by the four regional heavyweights – from the Trinamool Congress, Telugu Desam Party, Janata Dal (Secular) and Communist Party of India (Marxist) – comes amid opposition efforts to cobble together a rainbow coalition ahead of the 2019 general elections

Kejriwal accompanied by his deputy Manish Sisodia and ministers Satyendar Jain and Gopal Rai have stayed put at the LG office since Monday demanding that Baijal direct Indian Administrative Service officers to end what the ruling Aam Aadmi Party described as their “strike” and approve doorstep ration delivery scheme

The West Bengal chief minister also supported Chandrababu Naidu on the issue of 2011 Census being adopted by 15th Finance Commission in the NITI Aayog Governing Council meeting and requested not to penalise the performing states.