After Arvind Kejriwal Refuses To Resign As CM, LG Saxena Hits Back. Here's What He Said

Delhi LG VK Saxena hit out at the AAP government in Delhi over Arvind Kejriwal's refusal to resign as the Chief Minister after being arrested by the Enforcement Directorate.

Delhi Lieutenant-Governor VK Saxena on Wednesday said that the government will not be operated from the jail. His statement came in response to Arvind Kejriwal's refusal to step down as the Delhi CM. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders had earlier said that Kejriwal would continue as the Chief Minister of Delhi and that the Cabinet was working as per the orders he was issuing from the jail. 

Saxena, while speaking at the Times Now Summit, said, "I can assure the people of Delhi that the government will not be run from jail." 

Arvind Kejriwal, the national convener of AAP was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21 in connection with the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case. Subsequently, he was remanded to the ED’s custody until March 28 by a local court.

Soon after Kejriwal's arrest, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanded his resignation, accusing him of being involved in corrupt practices. Arvind Kejriwal is the first sitting chief minister in India to be arrested. The Aam Aadmi Party had said that Kejriwal wouldn’t resign and would run the Delhi government from jail.

On Wednesday, BJP leaders and workers staged a demonstration outside the gates of the Delhi Assembly, demanding the resignation of arrested Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Among the protesting leaders and workers was Delhi BJP unit president Virendra Sachdeva, who, along with others, was subsequently detained by the police.

Additionally, BJP MLAs conducted a protest within the assembly premises, which was in session on Wednesday. They displayed placards and raised slogans to demand Kejriwal's resignation.

Meanwhile, Kejriwal on Wednesday urged the Delhi High Court to order his immediate release from ED custody, contending his arrest on the cusp of elections was against the basic structure of the Constitution. Senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for the AAP leader, argued that the "object of the arrest was not to find material but to disable me and my party. My prayer is, release me now".

Singhvi further claimed that it was not "necessary" to arrest Kejriwal under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and that the ground of "non-cooperation" was the most abused by the ED.

(With PTI inputs.)