Why Does Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal Need 48 Hours To Resign? Atishi Explains As BJP Asks ‘What’s The Secret’

Two days after getting out of Delhi’s Tihar Jail, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday announced to step down from his post, a decision which comes as a shock for his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers and even surprised his opponents BJP and Congress.

While addressing AAP workers at party office in the national capital, Kejriwal said he does not have a lust for power while vowing not to sit in CM’s chair till people give him a “certificate of honesty”.

The AAP chief released on bail from Tihar on Friday in the excise policy graft case. Following Kejriwal’s unexpected announcement, the names of his wife Sunita and Delhi Ministers Atishi and Gopal Rai as his probable replacement are doing the rounds.

However, the BJP has hit back at Kejriwal asking why he need 48 hours to resign and should leave the post today.

Atishi Explains

Explaining “secret” behind 48 hours, Delhi Minister Atishi said, “Today is Sunday, tomorrow is a holiday for Eid-e-Milad, so the next working day is Tuesday. That’s why two days time.”

BJP Questions Secret Behind 48 Hours

The BJP accused that the AAP Kejriwal has requested 48 hours’ time to resign to either find a replacement or make some adjustments.

Addressing a press conference, the BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi said, “Delhi’s voters rendered their verdict three months ago, resulting in the loss of all seven seats. The entire council of ministers should resign and let elections be held in November. The public is fed up with them.” The BJP leader also noted that Kejriwal “has requested 48 hours to either find a replacement or make some adjustments.”

Party leader Harish Khurana also questioned why the AAP leader is creating a drama. “Why after 48 hours? he should resign today. In the past too, he has done this. People of Delhi are asking, he can’t go to the secretariat, can’t sign documents? What is the point then?” he said to NDTV.

Congress Reacts

Responding to Kejriwal’s statement, Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit said, “There is no question of becoming the CM again. We have been saying for a long time that he should resign as Chief Minister. This is merely a gimmick. It is unprecedented for an elected leader to come out of jail on bail and be asked by the Supreme Court not to go to the Chief Minister’s office or sign any papers.”

“Such conditions have never been imposed on any other Chief Minister. Perhaps the Supreme Court even fears that this person might try to tamper with the evidence. The Supreme Court is treating him like a criminal. There is no correlation between morality and Arvind Kejriwal,” Dikshit added.

What Kejriwal Said?

In his first address to party workers after he walked out of prison, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said that he would resign from the post of the Chief Minister of Delhi within the next two days.

Kejriwal was released from Tihar jail on Friday after the Supreme Court granted him bail in the excise policy-linked corruption case. “Given the current situation, the court has done everything it could in our favour. We are very grateful to the court. The court has given me bail, this was the most it could do at this stage. Now the case will proceed. My heart says that until I am acquitted by the court, I will not sit on the Chief Minister’s chair,” he said.

Kejriwal insisted that Delhi should go to polls along with Maharashtra, where assembly elections are likely in October. He also mentioned that until the elections are held, another member of the AAP will take over as the Chief Minister. “There are elections in February. I demand that the elections be held along with Maharashtra’s. Until the elections take place, someone else from the Aam Aadmi Party will become the Chief Minister,” he added.