The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday backed their party chief Arvind Kejriwal's decision to step down from the post of Delhi Chief Minister, saying he is going through "trial by fire" to "certify his honesty". Earlier today, Kejriwal said he would resign after two days and would demand early polls in Delhi while vowing not to sit in the CM's chair till people give him a "certificate of honesty." The AAP chief's remarks came two days after he was released from Tihar after the Supreme Court granted him bail in the Delhi liquor policy corruption case.
Reacting to the Chief Minister's announcement, Senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Raghav Chadha invoked Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan's gesture in the film "Deewar", and said the people of Delhi will write on their hands that "Kejriwal is innocent".
"'Mukhyamantri ji agni-pariksha se guzarne ke liye taiyyar hai'. Now it's in the hands of the people of Delhi to decide if he is honest or not. Arvind Kejriwal had asked for votes in the name of work in 2020 and said that if I have worked then vote for me, if I have not worked then do not vote for me. The people of Delhi will declare their Chief Minister honest by voting for AAP and in the upcoming 2025 Delhi elections, the people of Delhi will declare their Chief Minister honest through that election," the AAP Rajya Sabha MP said while talking to news agency ANI.
Delhi Minister Kailash Gahlot also rallied behind his part's boss's move and said, "We agree with the Chief Minister. Arvind Kejriwal has earned people's love, respect and blessings. He has left it to the people of Delhi to decide whether he is honest and the party is honest or not...No talks of dissolving the Assembly have been done so far."
AAP's National Spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar, while reacting to the news said Arvind Kejriwal has set a new benchmark of honesty through his move. "Arvind Kejriwal will have a meeting with the MLAs soon to decide the future course of action," she added.