NEW DELHI: In a surprising move, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Sunday that he will step down from his position within the next two days.
Addressing party workers after his release from Tihar Jail, Kejriwal said that he will only return to the post after being re-elected by the people in the upcoming Delhi elections.
"I am going to resign from the CM position after two days. I will not sit on the CM’s chair. In a few months, elections will be held in Delhi, and I want to make an appeal to the people. If you think Kejriwal is honest, then vote for me," the Delhi chief minister said.
"If you think Kejriwal is guilty, then don’t vote for me. Your every vote will be a certificate of my honesty. If you vote for me and declare that Kejriwal is honest, then only after the elections will I sit on the CM’s chair. Until then, I will not sit on the CM’s chair. Want to give 'agnipariksha' after coming out of jail," he added.
Kejriwal, who was released from Tihar Jail on Friday evening after being granted bail by the Supreme Court in a corruption case related to the alleged Delhi Excise Policy scam.
The Delhi chief minister asserted that the BJP cannot provide good schools and free electricity to people because they are corrupt. "We are honest," he asserted.
"They slap false cases against non-BJP chief ministers. If they are arrested, I urge them not to resign but run the government from jail," the Delhi chief minister said.
"I didn't resign (after arrest in excise policy case) because I respect democracy and the Constitution is supreme for me," Kejriwal said and asserted that it is only the AAP that can stand up to the BJP's "conspiracies".
During his speech, Kejriwal drew parallels between his recent experiences in jail and those of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh. He shared how he wrote a letter from jail, similar to Bhagat Singh's practice, but faced obstacles in communicating with the outside world.
"95 years after Bhagat Singh's martyrdom, a revolutionary chief minister went to jail in free India," Kejriwal remarked, recalling his own time in Tihar Jail. He shared how he wrote a letter from jail, similar to Bhagat Singh's practice of communicating with comrades. "Bhagat Singh’s letters reached his friends, but my letter, written to the LG on 15th August, didn’t even reach him. Instead, I received a warning that my family visits would be stopped if I tried to write again," he said.
"When I was in jail, one day Sandeep Pathak came to meet me. We discussed politics, but after that, he was blacklisted and not allowed to meet me again," Kejriwal added.
BJP terms Kejriwal's resignation as ' PR stunt '
The BJP was quick to respond to Kejriwal's announcement, with spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari calling it a "PR stunt" aimed at restoring his image.
Bhandari suggested that Kejriwal wants to apply the Sonia Gandhi model, where she made Manmohan Singh a dummy Prime Minister and ran the government from behind the scenes.
"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, today Aam Aadmi Party is known across the country as a corrupt party. Under his PR stunt, he wants to restore his image...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. They have understood today that the Aam Aadmi Party is losing the Delhi elections and the people of Delhi cannot vote in their name, so they want to make someone else a scapegoat," Bhandari said.
BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa alleged that Kejriwal is not sacrificing anything and is forced to resign due to the Supreme Court's order. Sirsa further claimed that Kejriwal had asked for two days to convince all MLAs to make his wife the chief minister of Delhi.
"Arvind Kejriwal has announced that he will resign after two days and become the CM again when he gets a verdict from the people... This is not a sacrifice, the Supreme Court has said in the order 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 SC order. The people gave their verdict 3 months ago when you asked 'jail or bail', you lost all 7 (Lok Sabha seats in Delhi) and were sent to jail... Now he has asked for a two-day time because he is convincing all MLAs to make his wife the CM... He is forced to leave his chair because he is involved in the liquor scam ," Sirsa said.
Addressing party workers after his release from Tihar Jail, Kejriwal said that he will only return to the post after being re-elected by the people in the upcoming Delhi elections.
"I am going to resign from the CM position after two days. I will not sit on the CM’s chair. In a few months, elections will be held in Delhi, and I want to make an appeal to the people. If you think Kejriwal is honest, then vote for me," the Delhi chief minister said.
"If you think Kejriwal is guilty, then don’t vote for me. Your every vote will be a certificate of my honesty. If you vote for me and declare that Kejriwal is honest, then only after the elections will I sit on the CM’s chair. Until then, I will not sit on the CM’s chair. Want to give 'agnipariksha' after coming out of jail," he added.
आज मैं जनता से पूछने आया हूँ कि आप केजरीवाल को ईमानदार मानते हो या गुनाहगार
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) September 15, 2024
अब जब तक दिल्ली की जनता अपना फ़ैसला नहीं सुना देती है तब तक मैं CM की कुर्सी पर नहीं बैठूँगा।
मैं आज से 2 दिन बाद मुख्यमंत्री के पद से इस्तीफ़ा दे दूंगा। @ArvindKejriwal #केजरीवाल_ईमानदार_है pic.twitter.com/i59f5U9gVV
Kejriwal, who was released from Tihar Jail on Friday evening after being granted bail by the Supreme Court in a corruption case related to the alleged Delhi Excise Policy scam.
The Delhi chief minister asserted that the BJP cannot provide good schools and free electricity to people because they are corrupt. "We are honest," he asserted.
"They slap false cases against non-BJP chief ministers. If they are arrested, I urge them not to resign but run the government from jail," the Delhi chief minister said.
"I didn't resign (after arrest in excise policy case) because I respect democracy and the Constitution is supreme for me," Kejriwal said and asserted that it is only the AAP that can stand up to the BJP's "conspiracies".
During his speech, Kejriwal drew parallels between his recent experiences in jail and those of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh. He shared how he wrote a letter from jail, similar to Bhagat Singh's practice, but faced obstacles in communicating with the outside world.
"95 years after Bhagat Singh's martyrdom, a revolutionary chief minister went to jail in free India," Kejriwal remarked, recalling his own time in Tihar Jail. He shared how he wrote a letter from jail, similar to Bhagat Singh's practice of communicating with comrades. "Bhagat Singh’s letters reached his friends, but my letter, written to the LG on 15th August, didn’t even reach him. Instead, I received a warning that my family visits would be stopped if I tried to write again," he said.
"When I was in jail, one day Sandeep Pathak came to meet me. We discussed politics, but after that, he was blacklisted and not allowed to meet me again," Kejriwal added.
BJP terms Kejriwal's resignation as ' PR stunt '
The BJP was quick to respond to Kejriwal's announcement, with spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari calling it a "PR stunt" aimed at restoring his image.
Bhandari suggested that Kejriwal wants to apply the Sonia Gandhi model, where she made Manmohan Singh a dummy Prime Minister and ran the government from behind the scenes.
#WATCH | On Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's 'I am going to resign from the CM position after 2 days' remark, BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari says, "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… pic.twitter.com/cr10rchu7y
— ANI (@ANI) September 15, 2024
"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, today Aam Aadmi Party is known across the country as a corrupt party. Under his PR stunt, he wants to restore his image...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. They have understood today that the Aam Aadmi Party is losing the Delhi elections and the people of Delhi cannot vote in their name, so they want to make someone else a scapegoat," Bhandari said.
BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa alleged that Kejriwal is not sacrificing anything and is forced to resign due to the Supreme Court's order. Sirsa further claimed that Kejriwal had asked for two days to convince all MLAs to make his wife the chief minister of Delhi.
#WATCH | Delhi: On Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's 'I am going to resign from the CM position after 2 days' statement, BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa says, "Arvind Kejriwal has announced that he will resign after two days and become the CM again when he gets a verdict from the… pic.twitter.com/U4Hy7j0Y4J
— ANI (@ANI) September 15, 2024
"Arvind Kejriwal has announced that he will resign after two days and become the CM again when he gets a verdict from the people... This is not a sacrifice, the Supreme Court has said in the order 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 SC order. The people gave their verdict 3 months ago when you asked 'jail or bail', you lost all 7 (Lok Sabha seats in Delhi) and were sent to jail... Now he has asked for a two-day time because he is convincing all MLAs to make his wife the CM... He is forced to leave his chair because he is involved in the liquor scam ," Sirsa said.
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