Kejriwal to step down as CM, face 'agnipariksha' of polls

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Sunday that he would resign after two days and sought early polls in the national capital while vowing not to sit in the chief minister's chair till people give him a 'certificate of honesty'.

The Bharatiya Janata Party described the Aam Aadmi Party supremo's move as 'drama' and a 'confession of crime' and wondered whether he has offered to quit because of infighting within his party.

Kejriwal, who was released on bail from Tihar Jail on Friday in a graft case linked to the alleged Delhi excise scam, said he would hold a meeting of the AAP MLAs in a couple of days and one of his party colleagues would take over as the chief minister.

The AAP national convener, who arrived at the party headquarters here along with his wife Sunita to address party workers, said he would become the chief minister and Manish Sisodia his deputy 'only when people say that we are honest'.

Sisodia got bail in the excise policy case last month.

Following Kejriwal's surprise announcement, the names of his wife Sunita and Delhi ministers Atishi and Gopal Rai are doing the rounds as his probable replacement.

The Delhi assembly's term ends on February 23 next year and the polls are expected to be held sometime early February.

Seeking a referendum on his politics of honesty, Kejriwal pointed out that Delhi will go to polls in a few months.

"I am going to resign after two days and ask people whether I am honest. I want to appeal to the public, if you think Kejriwal is honest, vote for me. If you think Kejriwal is guilty, do not vote for me. Every vote of yours will be a certificate of my honesty," he said.

The chief minister said the Delhi Assembly election is due in February but he demands that it be held in November, along with the Maharashtra polls.

"I will only sit in the chief minister's chair after the people give me a certificate of honesty. I want to give 'agnipariksha' (trial by fire) after coming out of jail.... When Lord Ram returned from his exile after 14 years, Sita Maiyya had to undergo 'agnipariksha'. I have come out of jail and I am ready to undergo agnipariksha," he said.

Accusing the BJP of trying to prove that he is corrupt, Kejriwal claimed that the saffron party could not provide good schools and free electricity to people because its leaders are corrupt.

"We are honest," he asserted.

Addressing the party workers, Kejriwal sought to explain the reasoning behind his move.

"You must be wondering that he has just been released from jail, why is he resigning? The BJP has alleged that Kejriwal is a thief, Kejriwal is corrupt, Kejriwal has betrayed Bharat Mata. I did not come here to play this game of money from power and power from money, I came here to do something for the country," he said.

Slamming Kejriwal, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said, "The AAP national convenor's announcement is a part of his plan to make his wife Sunita Kejriwal the chief minister.... Arvind Kejriwal has done a PhD in how to make a virtue out of necessity."

Addressing a press conference, another BJP national spokesperson, Sudhanshu Trivedi, said Kejriwal's announcement that he would step down as the chief minister was a confession of his crime.

He accepted that the charges that have been levelled against him are such that he cannot continue on the top post, Trivedi said.

Some AAP insiders claimed that after resigning, Kejriwal will move out of his official residence.

A party functionary said Kejriwal's move will shed the baggage of the allegations levelled against him by the BJP, like living a luxurious life in 'sheesh mahal' and enjoying official vehicles and facilities even though he had not resigned from the top post despite being jailed.

"This is a move to re-establish Kejriwal's image as a crusader against corruption, committed to the people and the country," he said.

Addressing the party workers, Kejriwal referred to him quitting the chief minister's post in 2014 over the Jan Lokpal Bill, just 49 days after assuming power, and said, "I had resigned then for my ideals. I do not lust for power."

"Our leaders, Satyendar Jain and Amanatullah Khan, are still in jail. I hope they come out soon," he said as he thanked god, "who was with us through difficulties".

About his time in jail, Kejriwal referred to the letters written by freedom fighter Bhagat Singh while in British captivity and said, "I wrote only one letter to the lieutenant governor from Tihar and was issued a warning."

"Our freedom fighters were allowed meetings with colleagues but my party colleague Sandeep Pathak was not allowed to meet me in jail," he said.

Another AAP functionary said when the chief minister was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21, Sunita Kejriwal played a crucial role in the party's Lok Sabha poll campaigning in Delhi, Gujarat and Haryana.

"Since she is also a former Indian Revenue Service officer, she understands the functioning of the government and bureaucracy. There would be no opposition from the party leaders if she is appointed as the chief minister of Delhi," he said.

About Atishi, another party functionary said she has been in charge of 14 departments, the highest among all the ministers, and has been playing a crucial role in the functioning of the Delhi government since Kejriwal's arrest.

The name of another minister, Gopal Rai, who is the AAP's Delhi unit president, is also likely to be considered for the chief minister's post at the meeting of the party MLAs.

As Kejriwal pitched for early polls in Delhi, experts said the city government might have to write to the Election Commission (EC), giving reasons behind the demand.

The final decision will, however, rest with the poll panel on when to hold the election.

Legally, the EC has the power to hold the Assembly polls in Delhi alongside Maharashtra. But on previous occasions, the polls in Delhi were held separately.

The EC should have a reason to club the Maharashtra and Delhi polls, said an expert who refused to be named.