Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday threatened to quit if the Jan Lokpal bill was not passed in the assembly during a special session between February 13 and 16. “If the Jan Lokpal bill is not passed in the assembly, I have no right to stay as CM,” the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader was quoted as saying by TV channels
The Delhi CM had threatened to “go to any extent” over the Jan Lokpal bill on Saturday. The bill is being opposed both by the Congress, whose continued support is essential for the survival of his government, as well as the BJP.
“Corruption is an extremely important issue and I will go to any extent,” he said during an interaction with news agency PTI on Saturday.
Asserting that both the Congress and the BJP will never allow passage of the bill, Kejriwal said since the government has decided to probe the alleged corruption in Commonwealth Games projects, Congress’ “pitch” has become more “shrill” in this regard and also there are allegations against the BJP, which is in power in MCD for past seven years.
Last week, the Delhi Cabinet cleared the draft of the much talked-about Jan Lokpal bill which provides for covering all public servants — from chief minister to Group D employees — and seeks life term as maximum punishment for those found guilty of corruption.
The Delhi government wants to introduce the Jan Lokpal and Swaraj bills on the first day of the session but the biggest hurdle is getting lieutenant governor (L-G) Najeeb Jung’s nod.
The Jan Lokpal bill has courted controversy in recent weeks with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) refusing to seek the Centre’s approval and the L-G writing to the solicitor general, asking about the constitutionality of the bill. On Friday, senior AAP leader Ashutosh had called the L-G ‘an agent of the Congress’.
The Congress assessment says that since Kejriwal has “failed to implement his promise of cheap water and electricity” to Delhi residents, he is looking for an “escape route” and could step down, taking the “moral high ground” on the Jan Lokpal issue.
The Congress has maintained that it won’t withdraw support to the AAP, at least till the Lok Sabha elections, despite “repeated provocations”, like the recommendation of a SIT probe into the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and asking the anti-corruption branch to lodge an FIR in the Commonwealth Games scam, aimed at implicating former CM Sheila Dikshit.
“The AAP is getting discredited with each passing day due to its political gimmicks. It will fall on its own,” a Congress leader said.
The BJP, on the other hand, believes that the Kejriwal government will fall under its own weight of creating unrealistic expectations, which it has failed to deliver.
The AAP, however, feels that its “goodwill” among the Delhi voters has strengthened due to its “uncompromising” stand on corruption. The party’s says it will win around 50 seats if fresh elections are held in Delhi along with the Lok Sabha elections.
Source: With inputs from PTI