Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's recent announcement about resigning from his position in two days has been dismissed as a 'PR stunt' by BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari.
Speaking to news agency ANI, Bhandari on Sunday, claimed that Kejriwal has realised his image among Delhi's citizens is not that of an honest leader, but a corrupt one. “This is a PR stunt of Arvind Kejriwal. He has understood that his image among the people of Delhi is not of an honest leader but of a corrupt leader," Bhandari said. "Today, the Aam Aadmi Party is known across the country as a corrupt party.”
Bhandari went on to say, "Under his PR stunt, he wants to restore his image." He alleged that Kejriwal's strategy resembled what he referred to as the 'Sonia Gandhi model,' where he claimed Congress leader Sonia Gandhi controlled the then government through a 'dummy' leader. "It is clear that 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," Bhandari added.
The BJP spokesperson further suggested that AAP is aware of its waning support in Delhi. "They have understood today that the Aam Aadmi Party is losing the Delhi elections, and the people of Delhi cannot vote in their name," he remarked. "So, they want to make someone else a scapegoat," Bhandari concluded.
BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonwalla charged that Kejriwal is playing an "emotional card" to exploit the situation, reported news agency PTI.
Poonwalla argued that Kejriwal’s resignation announcement is a strategic move in response to the court’s decision to grant him conditional bail in the excise policy scam case, rather than an acquittal. “He is enacting the resignation drama because the court did not acquit him and instead granted him conditional bail, which turned him into a ceremonial minister from the Chief Minister,” Poonwalla said.
Similar to Bhandari's allegations, Poonwalla also alleged that Kejriwal’s plan is to follow the 'Sonia Gandhi model' by creating a system where his wife, Sunita Kejriwal, could potentially become Chief Minister. “Arvind Kejriwal has done a PhD on how to make a virtue out of necessity,” Poonwalla claimed. “The emotional and PR cards that he is playing are aimed at creating a Manmohan Singh-like system in Delhi, similar to what Sonia Gandhi did.”
In his announcement, Kejriwal vowed not to return to the Chief Minister's chair until he receives a "certificate of honesty" from the people. He also indicated plans to convene a meeting of AAP MLAs in the coming days to facilitate a leadership transition. Poonwalla also condemned this move as a calculated PR exercise and pointed out that despite Kejriwal’s efforts, the recent Lok Sabha elections resulted in the defeat of both AAP and Congress in all seven Delhi seats, despite the 'jail ka badla vote campaign.'
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who came out of jail a couple of days ago after getting bail in connection with the Delhi Excise policy scam from the Supreme Court, on Sunday had said that he will resign from the CM post in the next 2 days.
The AAP Supremo said that the party will name the new Chief Minister in a couple of days. The announcement to this effect was made by the Delhi CM while addressing the workers at AAP headquarters.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI)