There is no question of the Chief Minister’s resignation, the Aam Aadmi Party said on Thursday, hours after Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest by a team of Enforcement Directorate officials in connection with the excise policy case. AAP leader and Delhi minister Atishi said that Kejriwal will “run the government from jail”, if needed.
“Arvind Kejriwal was the Delhi CM, is the CM and will continue to remain the CM. He will not resign,” she said, adding, “Kejriwal will continue as chief minister of Delhi and run the government from jail.”
The Bharatiya Janata Party, whom the AAP blames for the “political witch-hunt” against Kejriwal, has demanded that Kejriwal step down as CM immediately. “Today every citizen of Delhi is satisfied that the chief minister, implicated in allegations of corruption, has finally been arrested,” Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva told reporters. “The arrest of Arvind Kejriwal is the defeat of corruption. Kejriwal should resign immediately.”
Kejriwal’s arrest triggered a flurry of reactions from Opposition parties as well. Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury pointed out in a post on ‘X’ that Kejriwal is the second sitting CM of the INDIA bloc to have been arrested by central agencies.
“Strongly condemn the arrest of Delhi CM, Shri Arvind Kejriwal by the ED… Clearly, Modi and the BJP are in panic over people’s rejection in the ongoing elections.All opposition leaders who defected and joined the BJP are protected and patronised. They are the ‘Satya Harishchandras’!” he wrote and claimed that the arrest would only cement people’s desire to defeat the BJP.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also condemned Kejriwal’s arrest and termed it an attempt to muzzle Opposition voices. “Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest is highly objectionable. This action is part of the effort to shut down the opposition voices at the stage of the election process. This shows the cowardice of those who fear the democratic process,” he said.
“Shocked by the news of the arrest of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. Coming hard on the heels of the crippling freeze on Congress bank accounts, it is clear that a systematic effort is on to subvert Indian democracy during our general elections,” Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said in a social media post.
Meanwhile, Atishi said that AAP will move Supreme Court and seek an urgent night hearing. AAP said in a social media post that the time had come for a “revolution to overthrow the dictatorial government at the Centre”.