The Congress on Saturday asserted that the Narendra Modi government’s assault on the federal structure and the rights of the elected governments in the states will be strongly opposed in the Parliament session beginning July 22.

This becomes important in the context of the Aam Aadmi Party’s demand that the Congress should clarify its stand on the ordinance brought by the Centre to curb Delhi’s powers. This issue was raised at the first Opposition meeting in Patna where the AAP leaders, including Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, threw a tantrum and threatened to boycott future meetings.

Now the Congress has indicated its support to the AAP’s campaign to defeat the ordinance in the Rajya Sabha, a cause already supported by other Opposition parties. The announcement coming just before the next Opposition meeting in Bangalore on July 17 and 18 removes the reason for conflict between the Congress and the AAP. If Kejriwal still boycotts the Opposition meet, his intent will become suspect.

Though the Congress didn’t specifically mention the Delhi ordinance, the party’s communications chief Jairam Ramesh responded to a question about it by saying: “We have clearly said the Centre’s attack on elected governments, direct and through their appointees (Raj Bhavans and lieutenant governors), will be a major issue in the upcoming Parliament session. The Congress has always opposed the attack on the federal structure and we will continue to do that.”

Ramesh refused to elaborate, reluctant to present it as the Congress support to the AAP, and instead insisted that the decision was a principled response to the questions related to the federal spirit.

It was obvious from the beginning that the Congress will not support the Modi government’s penchant for encroaching upon the rights of the states but the AAP chose to invent a political controversy by issuing ultimatums and threats for the decision.