Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena on Wednesday categorically said the Delhi Government will not be run from jail. His reply comes in the backdrop of statements by AAP leaders that Kejriwal will continue as Chief Minister even if he is behind bars.
Replying to a query at the media conclave, the Lieutenant Governor said, “I can assure the people of Delhi that the Government will not be run from jail.”
In an apparent attack on the AAP dispensation, Saxena said, “As kids, we all have heard the proverb ‘lohe ke chane chabana’ (to face great difficulty). After coming to Delhi I actually realised the meaning of this proverb. In this city to get any work done it feels like ‘lohe ke chane chabana’. Whatever you try to do, there are some forces that put their entire strength into stopping that work. And if you are able to successfully complete that work, then these forces try to take credit.”
Clearing the clutter around the noises made by BJP regarding the President’s rule, senior AAP leader and Minister in the Kejriwal Cabinet Atishi unequivocally stated that no Constitutional provision bars ‘governance from jail’, citing the law of the land ie Representation of the People Act, 1951 and GNCTD Act.
Atishi said the law of the land is very clear. “The President’s rule can only be imposed when there is no other choice. Issue of Article 356 has gone to the Supreme Court multiple times and it has repeatedly ruled that President rule can only be implemented only when there is no other choice left for the governance of that state. So if today the President’s rule is imposed, then it is very clear that it is a political vendetta. So as you can see that it is used by institutions after institutions to finish off the Opposition,” she said.
Responding to Saxena’s statement, Atishi said if President’s Rule is imposed in Delhi in the aftermath of Kejriwal’s arrest, it would be a clear case of “political vendetta”.
She cited The Representation of the People Act that disqualifies a lawmaker if s/he is convicted.
“What is the constitutional provision he is drawing on? The law of the country is very clear. You have the GNCTD Act which is very clear that you cannot be the Chief Minister if you do not enjoy the majority of the House. These conditions do not apply. So, under what conditions will the President’s rule be imposed?” she said.
The Delhi Minister said it as a political conspiracy of the BJP-led Central Government to undermine democratically elected Opposition Governments using the ED, suggesting that Opposition Chief Ministers could be coerced into resigning or face arrest under draconian sections of the PMLA.
Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21 in the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case and subsequently remanded in the agency’s custody till March 28 by a court here.
AAP leaders on several occasions ruled out Kejriwal’s resignation, insisting that he will run his Government from inside the jail.
Atishi said the arrest of Kejriwal will benefit the AAP electorally in the Lok Sabha polls as the party is getting a lot of sympathy.
Atishi termed the arrest of Kejriwal by the ED in an excise policy-linked money laundering case as an attack on democracy that was “never seen before” in the democratic history of the country.
“The good thing is that it has benefited us electorally,” she said, adding before the arrest of Kejriwal, the result of Lok Sabha polls was a forgone conclusion as people were of the view that the BJP was going to win.
“But after Kejriwal’s arrest, the level of public sympathy has gone up for us. There is just one sentiment that the BJP has gone one step too far. So, I would feel it has benefitted us electorally,” Atishi said.
