The BJP on Sunday demanded that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal “immediately dissolve the cabinet” after he announced that he would resign in two days and sought early Assembly polls, stating that he would wait for the “people’s verdict”.
“The public has already given their verdict three months ago and sent him (Kejriwal) to jail, giving them zero votes in the Lok Sabha polls. So if Kejriwal has even an iota of morality, the entire cabinet should resign, send a resolution to LG and hold the polls in November,” BJP Delhi chief Virendra Sachdeva said at a press conference.
Accusing Kejriwal and his AAP government of corruption in everything from schools to hospitals, Sachdeva said, “Like his character, his statement is also an illusion. Why wait for two days? Why can’t he resign immediately? What is going to happen in the next 48 hours? Is he going to make a replacement?”
Sachdeva asked the chief minister why he did not resign when people in Delhi were struggling for water, students were electrocuted in floodwater, sewers were overflowing and electricity bills were going up.
“Several works are pending. People were facing problems due to pending files in the absence of a government. While the CM, who talks about honesty, is saying he will go to the people, how honest he and his party are? Will he tell the people that his bedsheet costs Rs 8 lakh and he sits on a toilet that costs Rs 4 lakh,” the BJP leader said.
Senior BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi said that several Opposition leaders, like Madhu Khoda from Jharkhand, Lalu Prasad Yadav from Bihar, and Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa from Tamil Nadu, had resigned as chief minister before going to jail so that the government would continue to function and people would not face any problem.
“But Kejriwal did not resign in the last six months. Now all of a sudden he is saying he will resign, that too after two days. Why doesn’t he call a cabinet meeting and dissolve it immediately by writing to the L-G (lieutenant governor) and hold polls in Delhi?” said Trivedi.
Meanwhile, AAP leaders demanded the Assembly polls be held in November.
“The Assembly does not need to be dissolved for the elections to take place. The elections can be held anytime now because only six months are left before the elections,” AAP leader and minister Atishi said.
Atishi also clarified that Kejriwal would resign after two days because of the long weekend and government holidays. “He will resign after two days because it’s Sunday today and tomorrow is the Eid (-e-Milad-un-Nabi) holiday. So he will resign on the next working day, that is the coming Tuesday (September 17).”
Earlier in the day, Kejriwal made the surprise announcement of his resignation plan at the AAP office, where he was addressing party workers.
He walked out of Tihar Jail on Friday after the Supreme Court granted him bail in the CBI’s Delhi excise policy case.
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