CM Kejriwal threatens to quit over Jan Lokpal Bill

‘If the Jan Lokpal Bill is not passed, then I have no right to stay as Delhi chief minister. I am ready to sacrifice the chair of chief minister to free the country from corruption,’ he said.

Kejriwal said he does not have the right to stay in office if the contentious legislation does not get the approval of the assembly. Earlier on Saturday, he had said in an interview that he can ‘go to any extent’ over the ‘huge’ issue of corruption. The Bill is being opposed both by the Congress, whose continued support is essential for the survival of his seven-week-old government, as well as the opposition BJP.

‘To remove corruption from the country, I can sacrifice CM seat a hundred times,’ Kejriwal said, adding the ‘government will fall if the Jan Lokpal Bill and the Swaraj Bill are not passed.’

‘I am ready,’ he said when asked whether he was ready to quit on the issue of Jan Lokpal and Swaraj Bills.

The Jan Lokpal Bill and Swaraj Bill will be tabled on the floor of the Delhi assembly on 13 February, the chief minister said. Kejriwal’s comments came three days after he sent a strongly-worded letter to lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung asking him to protect the Constitution and not the interest of Congress and the home ministry, saying they were keen on stalling his government’s Jan Lokpal Bill. 

The chief minister came down heavily on the L-G after a letter written to him by solicitor general Mohan Parasaran calling the Jan Lokpal Bill ‘unconstitutional’ was ‘leaked’ to the media. ‘We have written to home minister to withdraw the (2002) order which directs Delhi government to take approval of the ministry before passage of any bill in the assembly,’Kejriwal said. Questioning the validity of the MHA order, Kejriwal said government will not send the Bill to the home ministry for approval.

In an attempt to assuage the fear of Delhiites over a possible power crisis, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday assured people that they would not have to live without electricity. However, he did ask the people to be ready for ‘some difficulties’ in case power distribution companies continued with their ‘blackmailing’ tactics. The chief minister also clarified that the tussle with the BSES discoms was not a personal battle he was waging. Kejriwal said that he had no personal issue with either Ambani or the Tatas, who run Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL) in the capital. ‘We would be very happy to work with them if they want to do honest business,’ he said. He warned the discoms that they will not be allowed to ‘blackmail’ the people of the city and assured that his government would not let ‘Delhiites live without power’. Anil Ambani group companies BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd and BSES Yamuna Power Ltd supply electricity to 70 per cent of the consumers in Delhi while TPDDL caters to areas, except those under NDMC.