In what can be seen as reclaiming high moral ground ahead of the impending Delhi assembly elections, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday announced that he will be stepping down as Delhi Chief Minister in a couple of days, when a meeting of party MLAs will be convened to elect a new chief minister.
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He will not return to the chief minister’s post till the people of Delhi give him a fresh mandate in the elections to continue as such, Kejriwal, who walked free after spending months in jail following the Supreme Court granting him bail in the CBI case against him in connection with the alleged Delhi Liquor policy scam, stated while addressing a public meeting at the AAP headquarters.
Giving reasons why he is resigning now after steadfastly refusing to step down from the post right through his two and a half months in jail, he said he has been charged with indulging in corruption, and just as in the case of Lord Ram, when he returned from exile to Ayodhya, Mata Sita had given ‘agnipariksha’, he too will prefer to face the acid test in the people’s court.
Reiterating that he had not entered politics to indulge in the dirty game of power and money, he said he will leave it to the people to decide. “If you endorse that Kejriwal is honest then vote for me, but if you feel that Kejriwal is dishonest and corrupt don’t vote for me,” he added.
Accusing the BJP of trying to break AAP and form its own government in Delhi by getting him arrested, he asserted that they have failed miserably in their gameplan.
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He also favoured elections to the state assembly be held in November 2024, along with Maharashtra, instead of in February 2025, as scheduled.
In granting bail to Kejriwal on September 13, the apex court had placed several restrictions on him, including him not being allowed to visit the office of the Chief Minister and Delhi Secretariat, and forbidden from signing official files unless required and necessary for obtaining clearance/approval of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi.
Besides furnishing bail bonds of Rs 10 lakh, he was also forbidden from making any public comments about the case and was required to be present for all hearings before the trial court unless exempted.
The Delhi chief minister and AAP supremo was formally arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 11 in a money laundering case in connection with the alleged Delhi Liquor Policy scam, and later by the CBI on June 26, 2024, from ED custody.
