Synopsis
Arvind Kejriwal, Aam Aadmi Party national convener, announced his resignation as Delhi chief minister following his bail in the excise policy case. He stated he would seek public support and return to office only after elections. AAP will choose a new CM within two days.
AgenciesNew Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal announced his resignation as Delhi chief minister on Sunday, two days after he was granted bail by the Supreme Court in the now-scrapped excise policy case, a development that caught the party cadres off guard just months ahead of the Delhi polls.
“Two days later, I will resign as CM. I will not sit on that chair till the people announce their verdict. Elections in Delhi are months away. I got justice from the legal court, now I will get justice from the people’s court. I will sit on the chief minister’s chair only after the order of the people,” Kejriwal said at a meeting with party workers.
“I want to ask the people of Delhi: Is Kejriwal innocent or guilty? If I have worked, vote for me,” he said, adding that a meeting of AAP MLAs will be held within the next two days to choose the new CM.
According to people in the know, the announcement came after Kejriwal’s meeting with his lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi late on Saturday night where the two are believed to have discussed minute details of the SC order on the chief minister’s bail conditions, under which Kejriwal cannot go to the CM’s office or sign files.
The bail conditions raised the question whether Kejriwal could even convene cabinet meetings and take vital administrative decisions, critical points that were being examined by his legal team and were expected to become fresh flashpoints between Kejriwal and lieutenant governor VK Saxena.
After his meeting with Singhvi, Kejriwal met senior AAP leaders to convey his decision to resign.
At the meeting with party workers on Sunday, Kejriwal said a member of AAP will be named CM after his resignation. He said he would go among the people and ask for their support.
He also demanded that the assembly election in Delhi, scheduled for February 2025, be held in November along with the polls in Maharashtra.
“You must be thinking that he has just come out of jail, why is he quitting now? They have charged that ‘Kejriwal is a thief’, that ‘Kejriwal is corrupt’, that ‘Kejriwal has deceived Bharat Mata’,” Kejriwal told AAP workers.
“This is not what I came here for – for power and for money from power. I came here to do something for my country. When Lord Rama returned from exile after 14 years, Sita maiyya had to give agni pareeksha (trial by fire). Today I have come out of jail, I am ready to give my agni pareeksha,” said Kejriwal.
Kejriwal said he did not resign as CM soon after being arrested because he wanted to save democracy.
