JOIN USKejriwal quits over Jan Lokpal
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal resigned on Friday night after suffering a defeat in the Assembly on the Jan Lokpal Bill, and in a political gamble, recommended dissolution of the Assembly and holding of fresh polls.
Bringing to an end a 48-day roller coaster ride in power, during which he received bouquets and brickbats in equal measure, the Chief Minister and his cabinet met one last time when it decided to resign and make the recommendation to Lt Governor Najeeb Jung, whose advice against the anti-graft Bill he had defied in the assembly.
Late on Friday night, Kejriwal, accompanied by a couple of Cabinet colleagues, handed over the resignation to Jung, along with the recommendation for dissolution of the House.
In the letter, which is addressed to the President, he said: “The council of ministers also recommends dissolution of the Delhi Assembly and immediate conduct of elections.”
The Lt Governor is expected to give his report to the Centre on Saturday on whether the national capital should be brought under a spell of President’s rule or go for dissolution of the Assembly so that polls can be held along with the Lok Sabha elections.
“The real face of BJP and Congress has been exposed. The BJP and the Congress have ganged up against our government because we filed a case against Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani three days ago,” Kejriwal said after announcing his resignation.
Kejriwal said Ambani was running the Congress government for the last 10 years, adding, “The Congress is his shop and he can buy anything whenever he wants.”
He also did not spare Narendra Modi, saying Ambani had been behind him for the past year. “Where are Modi’s riches coming from? He is flying by helicopter criss-crossing the country. He is addressing huge and expensive rallies. From where does he get money for all this?”
Making an impassioned speech before his supporters at the Hanuman Road office, the 45-year-old said: “The AAP will fight both the BJP and the Congress with full force in the Lok Sabha elections.
“We are not here to enjoy power but give clean governance and end corruption,” he said, to thunderous applause from supporters.
“I pray to God to give us another chance to serve the country,” he said, adding that the Central government and lieutenant governor were creating hurdles in the working of his government.
During the proceedings in the Assembly earlier, Kejriwal, the youngest chief minister of the city-state, said: “Let me also say a few words. This could be our last Assembly session.”
The presence of members of his family for several hours in the House's visitors’ gallery was also a pointer that it could be his final appearance in the Assembly. Kejriwal defended his government’s decision to try and introduce the anti-graft bill in the House, despite a caution by the lieutenant governor.
“We are being accused of having done something unconstitutional, they say we should have taken the central government’s permission (before trying to introduce the bill) but this is not written anywhere in the constitution,” he said.