Kejriwal to step down as Delhi chief minister within two days

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday announced that he will resign from the post within two days.

Addressing a gathering in New Delhi, Kejriwal said he is seeking early elections, in November. He also announced that another Aam Admi Party (AAP) leader will be the chief minister till the elections conclude. He said the decision about the new CM will be taken in a few days.

"I am ready for Agni Pariksha", said Kejriwal, adding, "Two days later, I will resign as Chief Minister. I will not sit on that chair till the people announce their verdict. Elections in Delhi are months away."

"After 2-3 days there will be a meeting in which we will decide the CM. I and Manish Sisodia are going to 'Janta ki adalat' and our future is in your hands. I urge you all to vote for me if I am honest, if not then please don't. If the Centre questions why a government cannot function from prison, I have proven it can."

"I now appeal to all non-BJP Chief Ministers to not resign if falsely imprisoned by the PM. We must not resign under any circumstances. Running a government from jail is possible if we all work together. It’s not about our greed for power or the importance of the CM's position to us. What matters is our Constitution, our country, and preserving democracy," said Kejriwal.

Two days after he was granted bail and walked out of prison after six months, Kejriwal launched an all-out attack against the Narendra Modi government and said it "was more dictatorial than the British."

Earlier, Sisodia said, "The BJP drafted a fantasy story named the 'liquor scam.' The Supreme Court gave bail to Arvind Kejriwal and ended that story... It is a happy ending for us and a sad ending for the BJP. They thought they would keep Arvind Kejriwal jailed till the Delhi elections but their stories were proven to be wrong in the court, and today Arvind Kejriwal and I are out of jail..."

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Yogender Chandolia has criticised Kejriwal's decision to step down as Delhi chief minister and called it a "drama." He asked why he kept procrastinating it for so long, given that there had been long pending demands for his resignation.

The BJP leader claimed that Kejriwal chose to offer his resignation in the wake of Supreme Court-imposed restrictions, which he claimed proves Kejriwal’s guilt.

"If the case had been fully disclosed, we would have accepted that Kejriwal was right, and the people of Delhi were wrong," he stated. He added that the bail to Delhi CM was ‘neither a reward nor a stamp of exoneration.’

He also pointed to a statement made by Manish Sisodia, who had said he would address the public only after clearing his name from all pending cases.

The BJP leader interpreted this as an indication that both Kejriwal and Sisodia were guilty of wrongdoing. He further suggested that Kejriwal might be pressuring Sisodia not to assume the CM's post.

The BJP leader said the claims of corruption under the AAP government stand vindicated. He remarked, "Kejriwal has chosen to resign under pressure from the Supreme Court and he has no right to act freely as CM after being granted bail now.”

"Kejriwal would likely hand over the CM’s post to his wife, Sunita Kejriwal, in a move reminiscent of Rabri Devi's tenure, where she signed files while Lalu Yadav managed the government’s affairs,” he added.

Further, criticising Kejriwal's governance, he claimed that people in Delhi’s slums are paying higher electricity bills than they should, "The city’s roads are in a poor state, and there is a lack of clean drinking water."

He further warned that Kejriwal's troubles were just beginning and predicted that he would face jail term for other scandals.

"Seeking sympathy won’t help,” the BJP leader concluded, asserting that Delhi’s people have now realised the "reality" of Kejriwal’s governance.

Indo-Asian News Service