Arvind Kejriwal wants Atishi to hoist tricolour on Independence Day, BJP says ‘first make her CM’
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal wrote to Delhi LG, saying that Atishi should hoist the national flag on the Independence Day event.
Jailed Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote to lieutenant governor VK Saxena informing that cabinet minister Atishi will hoist the national flag in his place at the Delhi government's Independence Day function, according to the Aam Aadmi Party. However, the LG office denied receiving any such communication from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
"Kejriwal has written to (Lieutenant Governor V K) Saxena from jail saying that Atishi will hoist the tricolour in his place on August 15," the AAP said in its statement.
A Raj Niwas official said, "With regards to the claims in various sections regarding the flag hoisting on August 15, it is clarified that the LG secretariat is not in receipt of any such communication whatsoever."
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took a jibe at the jailed chief minister, saying he should resign from his post and make Atishi the Delhi CM as according to the rules, only the CM is allowed to hoist the tricolour on Independence Day.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said the letter written by the incarcerated chief minister to the lieutenant governor regarding the flag hoisting on Independence Day "proves" that the Aam Aadmi Party and its leaders were "anarchists" and would remain "anarchists".
Read more: 'Will you arrest Arvind Kejriwal again?': Delhi high court asks Enforcement Directorate
Attacking Kejriwal, Sachdeva said, “Perhaps, the framers of the Constitution and the national flag protocol never imagined that one day, there would be a stubborn chief minister who would not resign even after going to jail.”
"If the chief minister is unable to hoist the flag, then traditionally, the lieutenant governor of Delhi will hoist the flag. From 1991 to 1993 and in 2014, when there was no chief minister in Delhi, the lieutenant governor hoisted the flag," the BJP leader said.
He further said that if Kejriwal wants Atishi to hoist the flag and take on this responsibility, then he should trust her and resign from the CM post, allowing her to take oath as the chief minister of Delhi.
(With inputs from PTI)