Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who recently got bail in an Excise scam after six months, on Sep 15 announced that he will resign in two days, while adding that he would accept the Chief Minister's position only if people certify his honesty in Delhi assembly elections.
"I will go to the court of people to prove my innocence," Kejriwal said, adding, “I will sit on the CM's chair only after being elected,”
Kejriwal alleged the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wanted to break his party and form its government in the national capital.
“BJP wanted to destroy my morale and break my party but did not succeed,” he said.
“They have made a formula — break parties, break MLAs, and send leaders to jail. They thought they would form a government in Delhi by sending Kejriwal to jail...But they couldn't break our party... not even the workers," he added.
"In the garb of his PR stunt, he wants to restore his image...He wants to apply the Sonia Gandhi model, where she made Manmohan Singh a dummy Prime Minister and ran the government from behind the scenes,” Pradeep Bhandari, BJP national spokesperson was quoted as saying.
Kejriwal demanded that the elections should be held in Nov this year with Maharashtra instead of Feb 2025.
"Some people say that we will not be able to work because of restrictions imposed by the Supreme Court. Even they did not leave any stone unturned in imposing restrictions on us... If you think I am honest, vote for me in large numbers,” he said, adding, “someone else from the party will be the chief minister.
“A meeting of the MLAs will be held in the next 2-3 days, where the next CM will be elected,” Kejriwal said.
"I didn't resign earlier because I wanted to protect the country's democracy... Wherever BJP lose, they send the CM to jail and form their government," he added.
The Delhi Chief Minister appealed to all the opposition chief ministers to not resign if they are sent to jail on false charges.
Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in the Delhi excise policy case on March 11. He was released on bail by the Supreme Court on Sep 13.
Pertinently, the apex court barred him from entering the chief minister's office and signing any official file without the consent of the Delhi Lieutenant Governor.
Meanwhile, the BJP said Kejriwal is aware that Delhi people no longer see him as an honest leader.
“He knows that his image among the people of Delhi is not of an honest leader but of a corrupt leader. AAP is known across the country as a corrupt party. They understand AAP is losing the Delhi elections so they want to make someone else a scapegoat," Bhandari said.
BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa said that Kejriwal has no option but to resign because of the bail conditions on him by the Supreme Court.
“This is not a sacrifice. The Supreme Court has in its order has said that he cannot go near the CM's chair and cannot sign any files. Hence, you don't have an option, you are forced to resign because of the court order,” Sirsa was quoted as saying.
“The people gave their verdict three months ago when you asked 'jail or bail'. You lost all 7 Lok Sabha seats in Delhi and you were sent to jail…” Sirsa added.
The BJP leader claimed that Kejriwal has asked for two days to convince his party MLAs to appoint his wife, Sunita Kejriwal, as chief minister.
"He is convincing MLAs to make his wife the CM... He is forced to leave his chair because he is involved in the liquor scam," Sirsa said.
