Arvind Kejriwal to resign as Delhi's chief minister in 2 days

Sept 15: AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday announced that he will resign as the chief minister of Delhi in the next two days.

Arvind Kejriwal said that he would accept the chief minister's post only if people certify his honesty in the Delhi assembly elections. "We will go to the court of people to prove our innocence," he added.

He also demanded that the elections be held in November 2024 instead of February 2025.

"Some people say that we will not be able to work because of restrictions imposed by the Supreme Court. Even they did not leave any stone unturned in imposing restrictions on us... If you think I am honest, vote for me in large numbers. I will sit on the CM's chair only after being elected. The elections are supposed to be held in February. I demand elections be held in November with Maharashtra elections... Till elections are held, someone else from the party will be the chief minister. In the next 2-3 days, a meeting of the MLAs will be held, where the next CM will be elected,” he said, per ANI.

Addressing AAP workers, Arvind Kejriwal claimed the BJP wanted to break the party and form its government in the national capital. He said they also wanted to destroy his morale but failed.

"They wanted to break the party, break Kejriwal's courage and morale... they have made a formula-- break parties, break MLAs, send leaders to jail. They thought they would form a government in Delhi by sending Kejriwal to jail...But they couldn't break our party... they couldn't even break away from the party workers," he said.

Arvind Kejriwal also talked about why he didn't resign as the chief minister of Delhi.

"I didn't resign because I wanted to protect the country's democracy... They have made a new formula -- wherever they lose, they send the CM to jail and form their government," he added.

Arvind Kejriwal appealed to all the opposition chief ministers to not resign if they are sent to jail on false charges.

Kejriwal was arrested by the ED in the Delhi excise policy case on March 11. He was released last week on bail.

While granting him bail, the Supreme Court barred him from entering the chief minister's office and signing any official file.

BJP calls it PR stunt

"This is a PR stunt of Arvind Kejriwal. He has understood that his image among the people of Delhi is not of an honest leader but of a corrupt leader, today Aam Aadmi Party is known across the country as a corrupt party. Under his PR stunt, he wants to restore his image...He wants to apply the Sonia Gandhi model, where she made Manmohan Singh a dummy Prime Minister and ran the government from behind the scenes. They have understood today that the Aam Aadmi Party is losing the Delhi elections and the people of Delhi cannot vote in their name, so they want to make someone else a scapegoat," said BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari. (Hindustan Times)