BJP's first reaction to Arvind Kejriwal's resignation: 'PR stunt'
Arvind Kejriwal will resign as Delhi's chief minister in the next two days. He has also demanded early elections in the national capital.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday termed Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's announcement to step down from his post as a “PR stunt”.
BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari claimed that Kejriwal has understood that his image among the people of Delhi is not of an honest leader.
“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 (AAP) is known across the country as a corrupt party,” Bhandari told ANI.
"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..."
BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa said that Kejriwal has no option but to resign because of the bail conditions on him by the Supreme Court.
Also Read | ‘My courage has grown 100 times stronger’: Kejriwal walks out of Tihar Jail
“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 dont 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…” Sirsa told ANI.
He also claimed that Kejriwal has asked for two days time to convince his party MLAs to appoint his wife, Sunita Kejriwal, as chief minister.
"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 was quoted as saying by ANI.
Arvind Kejriwal to resign
Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday offered to resign as chief minister of Delhi in the next two days.
Addressing a gathering days after his release from Tihar Jail, Kejriwal demanded early elections in Delhi and vowed not to sit in the CM's chair until people gave him a "certificate of honesty."
"... I am going to resign from the CM position after two days. I will not sit on the CM chair until the people give their verdict... I will go to every house and street and not sit on the CM chair till I get a verdict from the people..." Kejriwal said.
Also Read | Supreme Court imposed no restrictions on Delhi CM’s work, says AAP MP
The chief minister said that he did not resign from his post as he wanted to protect the Constitution.
“They sent me to jail because their goal was to break the AAP and the courage of Arvind Kejriwal... They thought they would break our party and form a government in Delhi after jailing me... But our party did not break... I did not resign from the jail because I wanted to protect the Constitution of India. I wanted to fail their formula... The SC asked the central government why a government cannot run from the jail... The SC proved that a government can run from jail...” Kejriwal said.
After an incarceration that lasted nearly six months – barring a 21-day release for the Lok Sabha elections – Kejriwal walked out of Tihar Jail on Friday, hours after the Supreme Court granted him bail in the corruption and money laundering cases linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.
The grant of bail to Kejriwal came with the same conditions imposed by another bench of the Supreme Court in July – he cannot go to the CM’s office; sign on official files or make public statements about his role in the excise case.