Kejriwal’s decision to quit slammed as ‘political drama’ by critics, supporters say right move to go to people

NEW DELHI — Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s unexpected announcement on Sunday that he will resign after two days drew mixed reactions from parties, with some saying it was a compulsion due to bail restrictions on his functioning and others hailing it as a right call to go back to the people.

Punjab Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Bhagwant Mann called Kejriwal’s decision “revolutionary” and attributed it to his “honesty and commitment to the people”, but the BJP said he was trying to make a virtue out of necessity and dared him to step down immediately and recommend dissolution of the Delhi Assembly.

Also read: Will resign as CM after two days, demand early polls in Delhi: Kejriwal

The Congress took a nuanced stand as its Delhi unit president Devender Yadav termed it as a “political drama” and said that Kejriwal should have tendered his resignation six months ago, while party Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha said Kejriwal wants to increase his credibility and take the fight against the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi out on the roads.

Social activist Anna Hazare, who was Kejriwal’s mentor during their anti-corruption agitation, said he told the AAP chief since the beginning that he should not join politics but serve the people and lamented that “he never listened”.

“When Arvind Kejriwal talked about resigning, it became a confession of his crime. He accepted that the charges levelled against him were such that he could not continue as chief minister,” BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said during a press conference at the party headquarters.

दिल्ली की जनता ने @ArvindKejriwal जी को उनकी ईमानदारी की वजह से मुख्यमंत्री बनाया है। लेकिन जिस तरह से बीजेपी ने पिछले 2 साल से अरविंद केजरीवाल जी को भ्रष्ट साबित करने के लिए महाअभियान चलाया, वो ऐसा करने में विफल रही।

दुनिया के इतिहास में पहली बार किसी नेता ने खुलेआम कहा है कि… pic.twitter.com/Iuvj2v2zdx

— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) September 15, 2024

He also asked why Kejriwal did not resign when he was arrested and wondered if his decision was due to infighting in AAP.

“Him talking about resigning and demanding early polls in Delhi after coming out of jail on bail raises suspicion,” Trivedi said. “Could it be that there is some conflict going on within his party due to which he feels that it will be difficult to handle it now?”

“He is still a chief minister and his party has a massive majority in the Delhi Assembly. If he wants elections to be held, he can convene a Cabinet meeting and recommend dissolution of the assembly,” Trivedi said, questioning Kejriwal’s demand to hold elections in November.

However, AAP leader Sanjay Singh said Kejriwal was arrested “with the intention of ending AAP, but the BJP failed in this”.

“Now Kejriwal is going among the public… The people of Delhi will decide whether he is honest or guilty,” he said, adding he had full faith that the AAP chief will get a huge mandate as he has served the people of Delhi with honesty.

National Conference president Farooq Abdullah said Kejriwal’s announcement shows he is not hungry for power and wants to go back to people “who will either make or break him”.

NCP(SCP) leader Anil Deshmukh said Arvind Kejriwal is an honest politician who was “framed in a false case by BJP”.

“Now, Arvind Kejriwal wants to directly go amongst the public and if they believe that he is honest, then they should vote for him,” he said.

The Shiromani Akali Dal alleged that Kejriwal had “betrayed” the people of Delhi, and the real reason behind his decision was the Supreme Court barring him from entering the CM office or signing any files.

“When he was granted bail by the Supreme Court two days ago, the apex court said that he can’t sign a file and can’t go to his office. How will a government operate under such a circumstance?” Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam said.

Released on bail from Tihar Jail on Friday in an excise policy graft case, Kejriwal on Sunday announced that he would resign after two days and sought early polls in the national capital while vowing not to sit in CM’s chair till people give him a “certificate of honesty”.

He said he would hold a meeting of AAP MLAs in the next couple of days and a party leader would take over as chief minister.