Can’t run govt from jail, Kejriwal must resign: Delhi BJP at sit-in protest

Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said in 2025, the BJP government will be formed in Delhi, after which the double-engine government will ensure all-round development

Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party chief Virendra Sachdeva, MPs Manoj Tiwari and Harsh Vardhan, along with several other leaders on Saturday staged a dharna at Rajghat demanding the resignation of chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in the wake of his arrest in connection with the excise policy case.

BJP leaders protest against chief minister Arvind Kejriwal at Rajghat on Saturday. (Arvind Yadav/HT Photo)

Tiwari said that Kejriwal should immediately resign from the post of chief minister on moral grounds. “We have heard that gangs are run from jails, but this is the first time that people are watching the government being run from the jail,” said Tiwari.

BJP has intensified its attack on the AAP since Kejriwal’s arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday. Sachdeva said that the people of Delhi have made up their minds to elect BJP candidates on all seven seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, and in 2025, the BJP government will be formed in Delhi, after which the double-engine government will ensure all-round development of Delhi.

Vardhan said that the BJP had taken a pledge at Rajghat that they would continue to “protest against the corruption of the Kejriwal government” and now the result is before everyone. “AAP government makes all plans and policies for personal gains. Kejriwal who has deceived the people of Delhi, must also understand that the people who know how to bring you to power also know how to remove you from the throne,” said Vardhan.

Tiwari said the people of Delhi are happy after Kejriwal’s arrest. “The people of Delhi are happy, and the women who were protesting against the opening of liquor shops are now celebrating Holi in the city,” said Tiwari.

In a separate press conference, Sachdeva and Delhi BJP secretary Bansuri Swaraj accused the AAP of playing the victim card.

Hitting out at the AAP leaders for calling Kejriwal’s arrest illegal, Sachdeva said that was the job of the court.

“AAP wants us to believe that they are the sole guardians of truth and justice, and they decide who should be behind bars and who should roam freely. But AAP leaders should not forget this inconvenient truth that it’s the courts that have the right to dispense justice,” said Swaraj.

Meanwhile, Punjab chief minister and senior AAP leader Bhagwant Mann the party will approach the court for permission to set up Kejriwal’s office in jail so he could continue working as Delhi chief minister and run the government from there.

“It is not written anywhere that a government cannot run from jail,” Mann said, adding that, “the law says he can work from jail till found guilty. We will seek permission from the Supreme Court, high court for setting up an office in the jail and the (Delhi) government will function”.

Mann added that all AAP members are “loyal soldiers of Kejriwal”. “Kejriwal did one thing in the party, he made everyone national convener. AAP made everyone a leader. No one can take Kejriwal’s place in AAP because he created the party out of the anti-corruption movement,” added the Punjab CM.