Two days after getting bail from the Supreme Court, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said he was resigning from the top post to "save the Constitution", a slogan often raised by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
During the Lok Sabha election campaign, Rahul Gandhi was often seen carrying a leather-bound copy of the Constitution. He has been claiming that his fight is only for "saving the Constitution".
On Sunday, Kejriwal announced his resignation from the CM's post at a party meeting here and launched a scathing attack on the BJP.
Kejriwal offered his justification for not resigning from jail even as the courts also mentioned the difficulties encountered in the day-to-day functioning of the government.
He said he did not resign in jail as he wanted to protect the Constitution.
"I did not resign from the jail because I wanted to protect the Constitution of India. I wanted to fail their formula... The SC asked the Central government why a government cannot run from the jail...the SC proved that a government can run from jail..."
He said, "They sent me to jail because their goal was to break the AAP and the courage of Arvind Kejriwal... They thought they would break our party and form a government in Delhi after jailing me... But our party did not break.."
"They have registered cases against (Karnataka Chief Minister) Siddaramaiah, (Kerala Chief Minister) Pinarayi Vijayan, (Bengal Chief Minister) Mamata didi (Banerjee). I want to appeal to nonBJP CMs, do not resign if they register cases against you. This is their new game," he said.
While appealing to people, Kejriwal said, "...If you think I am honest, vote for me in large numbers...I got justice from the legal court, now I will get justice from the people's court... I will sit on the Chief Minister's chair only after the order of the people ..."
He demanded that the elections be held early. "Elections are supposed to be held in February. I demand elections be held in November with Maharashtra elections... Till elections are held, someone else from the party will be the Chief Minister. In the next 2-3 days, a meeting of the MLAs will be held, where the next CM will be decided."
He said, "I thank God for always blessing us... We are overcoming all the problems. We are fighting against huge enemies and succeeding. We are just a small party that transformed the politics of this country. I thank God for this..."
"... I am going to resign from the CM position after two days. I will not sit on the CM chair until the people give their verdict... I will go to every house and street...," he said.
Kejriwal was addressing a gathering at the party's headquarters. He was accompanied by Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann.
(With inputs from IANS)
