A day after the special court sent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to judicial custody till April 15, Delhi Minister Atishi weighed in on his arrest, saying that “there is no reason” for him to resign from the post of Delhi Chief Minister because “he has not been convicted”. Her statement came after the BJP on Tuesday demanded Delhi Chief Minister resignation, saying the national capital deserves a “better Chief Minister”.
A day after Arvind Kejriwal was sent to judicial custody in the excise policy case, AAP MLAs and councillors on Tuesday met his wife Sunita Kejriwal and asserted that the Delhi chief minister should run his government from jail and not resign.
The AAP MLAs and Municipal Corporation of Delhi councillors told Sunita Kejriwal that two crore people of the national capital stand with the chief minister and he should not resign at any cost, party leaders said.Of the AAP’s 62 MLAs in Delhi, 55 including all the ministers were present during the meeting.Four MLAs are out of station while three -- Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain -- are in jail, the AAP leaders said.
Delhi Minister and AAP leader Atishi, has made it clear that Kejriwal has no plans to resign because “he has not been convicted”. “There are two Constitutional and legal provisions related to this in our country. Representation of the People Act says that if you have a conviction for more than two years, then you cannot remain a public representative. Arvind Kejriwal has not been convicted...Arvind Kejriwal enjoys the overwhelming majority of the Delhi Assembly, so there is no reason for Arvind Kejriwal to resign. If Arvind Kejriwal resigns today then it will be a very simple and straightforward solution for the Bharatiya Janata Party to topple the Opposition governments,” she said at a press conference when asked whether Kejriwal will resign from the post of the chief minister.
Earlier in the day, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia has accused Kejriwal of “double standards”, noting that he took resignations from deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and another ministerial colleague Satyendar Kumar Jain but has refused to resign following his arrest in the excise case.
Atishi said there was no rule in the Constitution or law that requires Arvind Kejriwal to resign as the chief minister of Delhi. Citing the Representation of the People Act, she said Kejriwal has not been convicted in any case yet and that he enjoys an overwhelming majority. Asserting if Arvind Kejriwal resigns from the post of Delhi CM, Atishi stated that the BJP will topple the AAP government.
“Arvind Kejriwal enjoys the overwhelming majority of the Delhi Assembly, so there is no reason for Arvind Kejriwal to resign. If Arvind Kejriwal resigns today then it will be a very simple and straightforward solution for BJP to topple the opposition governments,” she stated.
Addressing a press conference on the AAP MLAs and councilors meeting with Sunita Kejriwal, Senior leader Saurabh Bharadwaj said the elected representatives wanted to meet Sunita Kejriwal after Kejriwal’s arrest. However, the meeting was delayed due to the party’s protests against the arrest and the opposition INDIA bloc’s rally at Ramlila Maidan.The AAP MLAs met Sunita Kejriwal and nearly two dozen of them expressed their views, the Delhi Minister said in a press conference.Since Kejriwal can interact with her through videoconferencing from Tihar jail, the MLAs and councillor urged Sunita Kejriwal to communicate to him their message that he should keep running the government from behind bars without tendering his resignation, Bharadwaj added.They told Sunita Kejriwal that the BJP will exert “immense” pressure on the Delhi chief minister to resign. If he steps down, they will say that he abandoned his responsibilities, Bharadwaj said. “It is the policy of the BJP to set a trap and force the chief minister to resign,” he said. Kejriwal has communicated to party leaders and volunteers through his wife that he is fine, strong and more resolute than before, and asked them not worry about him, the Delhi minister said.
Sunita Kejriwal also communicated the chief minister’s message that he was extremely proud that the AAP MLAs, councillors and the entire INDIA bloc successfully organised Sunday’s massive rally at Ramlila Maidan even though he was not with them. “The chief minister has said that the rally gave a clear message that as long as he is in the jail, the problems for the BJP will keep increasing,” Bharadwaj said.
On being asked if the CM will be changed and if it will be Sunita Kejriwal, the AAP stated that these are baseless rumours spread by the BJP. The BJP has been waiting to come into power in Delhi for almost 25 years. It is still as far from the BJP as it was 25 years ago.
