NEW DELHI — AAP Chief Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday announced his resignation as Delhi Chief Minister in the next two days, saying he was ready for the “agnipariksha”.
Kejriwal said he will not sit in the Chief Minister’s chair till the people again elect him.
“I will reach out to people. If people think that I am honest, they will vote for me in the Delhi Assembly polls,” he said.
Attacking the BJP-led NDA government, Kejriwal said: It is their formula to topple the state governments where they could not win by registering false cases against the Chief Ministers. They have filed cases against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, and Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee.”
“Running a government from jail is possible if we all work together. It’s not about our greed for power or the importance of the CM’s position to us. What matters is our Constitution, our country, and preserving democracy,” said Kejriwal.
Kejriwal said that he did not resign while going to prison in connection with the excise policy case as he wanted to “save the democracy”.
On the Supreme Court granting him conditional bail, Kejriwal said that he respects the Apex Court’s decisions.
He also appealed to the Election Commission to hold early polls in Delhi in November, alongside Maharashtra.
Highlighting his government’s achievement, he claimed that the educational infrastructure of Delhi’s schools has improved.
“We have given 18 lakh underprivileged children a brighter future by offering them access to an improved education system. We achieved this because we are honest,” Kejriwal asserted.
Claiming that the AAP government has changed the face of government hospitals in the national capital, he said, “We improved government hospitals in Delhi, opened new government hospitals, and launched mohalla clinics offering free medicines and services.”
He said even after introducing free bus rides for women and other welfare measures, the Delhi government has a revenue surplus as it is honest.
Delhi now enjoys 24-hour electricity, a stark contrast to the frequent power cuts citizens faced before his government came to power, said the AAP Chief.
“We made all this progress because of our honesty,” Kejriwal said.
Claiming that he has no greed for position and wealth, he said: “I had left my job as Income Tax Commissioner and lived in slums as I had a passion to serve the country.”
Kejriwal takes Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Save Constitution’ slogan
Kejriwal said he was resigning from the top post to “save the Constitution”, a slogan often raised by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
During the Lok Sabha election campaign, Rahul Gandhi was often seen carrying a leather-bound copy of the Constitution. He has been claiming that his fight is only for “saving the Constitution”.
He said, “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..”
“They have registered cases against (Karnataka Chief Minister) Siddaramaiah, (Kerala Chief Minister) Pinarayi Vijayan, (Bengal Chief Minister) Mamata didi (Banerjee). I want to appeal to non-BJP CMs, do not resign if they register cases against you. This is their new game,” he said.
While appealing to people, Kejriwal said, “…If you think I am honest, vote for me in large numbers…I got justice from the legal court, now I will get justice from the people’s court… I will sit on the Chief Minister’s chair only after the order of the people …”
He said, “I thank God for always blessing us… We are overcoming all the problems. We are fighting against huge enemies and succeeding. We are just a small party that transformed the politics of this country. I thank God for this…”
“… 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…,” he said.
Kejriwal was addressing a gathering at the party’s headquarters. He was accompanied by Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann. — IANS
