NEW DELHI: As AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal surprised everyone with his resignation announcement, his party on Monday said it has put the ball in BJP’s court by demanding early elections in Delhi in November.
According to the latest information, Kejriwal, on Tuesday, will tender his resignation as chief minister. This move will kickstart the process of choosing his replacement. However, there has been no discussion on who the next chief minister will be, Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said at a press conference here.
“We have the majority and we will be invited and then the process for oath taking will happen. This should take a week,” he said.
Kejriwal on Sunday announced to resign and not sit on the CM’s chair till the people give him a “certificate of honesty” and sought early polls in the national capital.
At the press conference, Bharadwaj said, “The ball is in the BJP’s court. They can decide on early polls if they are ready to face Kejriwal.”
As per the original schedule, the Delhi elections were slated to be held early next year.
“The Centre with all its agencies is after CM. They have made all efforts to defame him. Despite this, he has faith in people. This is a historic incident,” he said.
“People are keen to vote quickly and want early elections to choose Kejriwal. There is resentment against BJP. Lord Ram had given up his kingdom and chosen to go on exile for the sake of his ideals. Bharat, who was chosen in his place, waited for Lord Ram to return.
“Kejriwal is not Ram but is setting an example by giving up his chair,” he added.
Resignation a compulsion: BJP
The BJP has already labelled Kejriwal’s resignation as ‘drama,’ and on Monday, said his decision to resign as chief minister was borne out of “compulsion” and not driven by “principle”.
BJP’s Delhi president Virender Sachdeva also alleged that none of the departments in the Delhi government were free of corruption under Kejriwal’s rule.
To this attack, AAP responded that the Delhi BJP chief did nothing but held press conferences and spread false propaganda against the party.
Asking what choice Kejriwal was left with after “The Supreme Court has clearly pointed out that he cannot go to his office, cannot sign any file”, Sachdeva said the people of Delhi understand that the resignation was just a “compulsion.” Sachdeva also alleged that there was no department -- be it the Delhi Jal Board or the health and education departments -- where there was no corruption during the past 10 years.
“The court sent you to jail due to your thefts and you will have to answer to the people of Delhi. As far as elections are concerned, don’t wait till November, hold elections in October. The Delhi BJP is ready and the people of Delhi are also ready and they want to get rid of this corrupt chief minister as soon as possible,” he alleged.
Reacting to the allegations, AAP said Sachdeva should be ashamed. Even the Supreme Court remarked that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) functioned like a “caged parrot” under the BJP-ruled central government.
The apex court also categorically noted that it appeared the CBI arrested Kejriwal only to prevent his release from jail after he got bail in the ED case, AAP said.
