Arvind Kejriwal to resign as Delhi CM in two days, says want to give ‘agnipariksha’; BJP calls it ‘PR stunt’

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who was released on bail from Tihar Jail on Friday in the excise policy corruption, addressed party workers on Sunday and vowed not to sit in the chief minister's chair till people give him a "certificate of honesty". The Chief Minister announced that he would resign as Chief Minister in two days. He added that a meeting with AAP legislators will be organised in the coming days and an AAP leader will take over as CM.

"I will only sit in the chief minister's chair after the people give me a certificate of honesty. I want to give 'agnipariksha' (trial by fire) after coming out of jail.... When Lord Ram returned from his exile after 14 years, Sita Maiyya had to undergo 'agnipariksha'. I have come out of jail and I am ready to undergo agnipariksha," he said.

Kejriwal said that he will only sit on CM's chair after people give him a certificate of honesty. "Want to give 'agnipariksha' after coming out of jail.”

Catch all LIVE updates on Kejriwal's address to party workers here

9:45 pm: “What right does he have to hold the CM’s post”

“There are serious allegations against Arvind Kejriwal and he has not been proven innocent yet. He is behaving as if he has been acquitted of all charges. He has looted money belonging to the people of Delhi in the name of liquor. He is the same Arvind Kejriwal whose bail application was rejected several times in court. Despite all this, he is playing emotional card in front of Delhi’s public. What right does he have to hold the CM’s post?” says BJP MLA Ram Kadam.

6:45 pm: "Kejriwal should should've resigned six months ago"

"Delhi CM (Arvind Kejriwal), who is the main accused in the liquor policy scam and was sent to jail in this case, should've resigned six months ago. How can a person, who is the main accused in the case, can hold such a position? When he was granted bail by the Supreme Court two days ago, the apex court said that he can't sign a file and can't go to his office. How will a government operate under such a circumstance?" says Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam

5:30 pm: “People of Delhi aware about this drama” 

"People of Delhi are aware about this drama, and whenever Assembly elections are held in the national capital, the BJP will form the government there," said UP Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak.

4:10 pm: Congress' Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury says 'Kejriwal's decision to…'

“It is his will, if he can be the CM in the jail, he can remain the CM outside as well. Maybe, there are other matters that are more serious that need to be addressed,” he said.

3:50 pm: BJP says Kejriwal wants wife as Delhi CM

BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla claimed that the announcement was a “PR exercise and a drama”. He also alleged that the AAP national convenor had a plan to make his wife Sunita Kejriwal the chief minister. 

“Arvind Kejriwal has done a PhD on how to make a virtue out of necessity,” he alleged.

3:25 pm: Saurabh Bharadwaj says ‘ED, CBI don’t dare to…'

“From the past two years, BJP has been levelling allegations against all the leaders of AAP that they are dishonest, corrupt...Even after two years, ED and CBI don't dare to start a trial against Arvind Kejriwal...Supreme Court has given bail to Arvind Kejriwal but he wants to go among the public to give agni-pariksha and will sit on the Chief Minister's chair only after giving the agni-pariksha...He(Arvind Kejriwal) is the only Chief Minister who after resigning from his post is saying only vote for me if I am honest otherwise don't vote for me,” the Delhi Minister said.

3:00 pm: Delhi BJP seeks dissolution of AAP govt, polls in November

“The AAP government should be dissolved and elections should be conducted in November. The public of Delhi will give its answer...The entire party is accused in the Delhi Excise policy...The public of Delhi knows that you (Arvind Kejriwal) looted the public of Delhi,” said Delhi BJP President Virendraa Sachdeva.

2:45 pm: Manish Sisodia to remain Deputy CM? AAP leader says ‘only if public…’

Manish Sisodia, said on Sunday that he will sit on the chair of Deputy Chief Minister-Education Minister only if the public approves his “honesty”. The senior AAP leader insisted that he would go to the public court along with Arvind Kejriwal and ask whether the public considers him honest or not.

2:30 pm: Manoj Tiwari says resignation ‘is a new drama’ from CM Kejriwal

2:20 pm: Atishi says BJP is ‘afraid of elections’

“For the last two years, BJP has left no stone unturned to harass AAP. Thousands of raids were conducted but they could not present any proof of corruption...BJP is afraid of elections. BJP knows that the people of Delhi are angry about the way false allegations were made against Arvind Kejriwal. That is why the BJP does not want elections because they know that the people of Delhi will express this anger in their votes. If elections are held today, the people of Delhi will not give a single seat to the BJP. 70 out of 70 seats will go to the Aam Aadmi Party,” assured Delhi Minister Atishi.

2.01 pm: ‘Chair of the Chief Minister will wait for Arvind Kejriwal’ says Saurabh Bharadwaj

Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj says "You will not find such an example in the world that a Chief Minister, after getting bail from the court, himself decides that the court has granted me bail but the day my people will put me through the 'agni-pariksha', only then I will sit on this chair...For the past 3 times, the people of Delhi have been voting for BJP in Lok Sabha and giving it 8 seats in the Vidhan Sabha, so BJP knows the truth. The chair of the Chief Minister will wait for Arvind Kejriwal..."

2.00 pm: ‘Arvind Kejrwial has no greed for power or money’: Punjab Minister

Punjab Minister Aman Arora said, "... Arvind Kejriwal has set a new precedent of accountability. The whole country feels proud of his decision. He has no greed for power or money. All he wants is a corruption-free and transparent politics in the country... "

1.56 pm: ‘Should have resigned a long time ago’: BJP leader Shazia Ilmi

BJP leader Shazia Ilmi said, "Arvind Kejriwal is a master of political maneuvering. He knows that he should have resigned in those 5 months when he was in jail...He is deliberately talking about resignation as this is the only way to get sympathy...He should have resigned a long time ago. I think the people of Delhi have completely understood his reality..."

1.22 pm: He is forced to leave his chair because he is involved in the liquor scam, says BJP leader

BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa said, "Arvind Kejriwal has announced that he will resign after two days and become the CM again when he gets a verdict from the people... This is not a sacrifice, the Supreme Court has said in the order that he cannot go near the CM's chair and cannot sign any files. Hence, you dont have an option, you are forced to resign because of the SC order. The people gave their verdict 3 months ago when you asked 'jail or bail', you lost all 7 (Lok Sabha seats in Delhi) and were sent to jail... Now he has asked for a two-day time because he is convincing all MLAs to make his wife the CM... He is forced to leave his chair because he is involved in the liquor scam..."

1.19 pm: ‘Such decision can only be taken by an honest person’, says AAP MP

On Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's 'I am going to resign from the CM position after 2 days' statement, AAP MP Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer says, "Just to keep him jailed, he was arrested by the CBI when he got a bail from the ED. The SC also said that the CBI has become a caged parrot... A decision to quit the CM chair until the people give their verdict, such a decision can only be taken by an honest person... Only Arvind Kejriwal can leave the CM chair after coming out of jail..."

12.58 pm: ‘People of Delhi will declare their CM honest through election…’: Raghav Chadha

AAP MP Raghav Chadha says "...'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 the 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..."

12.50 pm: ‘PR stunt of Arvind Kejriwal’: BJP on 'going to resign from the CM position' remark

BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari said, "This is a PR stunt of Arvind Kejriwal. He has understood that his image among the people of Delhi is not of an honest leader but of a corrupt leader, today Aam Aadmi Party is known across the country as a corrupt party. Under his PR stunt, he wants to restore his image...It is clear that he wants to apply the Sonia Gandhi model, where she made Manmohan Singh a dummy Prime Minister and ran the government from behind the scenes. They have understood today that the Aam Aadmi Party is losing the Delhi elections and the people of Delhi cannot vote in their name, so they want to make someone else a scapegoat..."

12.46 pm: 'Will become CM, Sisodia as deputy CM only when…'

“I will become chief minister, Sisodia deputy CM only when people say we are honest,” he said.

12.42 pm: 'Will only sit on CM's chair after…': Delhi CM

He added that “I will only sit on CM's chair after people give me certificate of honesty; want to give 'agnipariksha' after coming out of jail.”

12.32 pm: Arvind Kejriwal demands elections in November

He added, “Delhi elections due in February but I demand elections in national capital be held in November with Maharashtra.”

12.31 pm: AAP leader will take over as CM, says Arvind Kejriwal

He added that, “Will hold meeting of AAP MLAs in next couple of days, an AAP leader will take over as CM”

12.30 pm: Arvind Kejrwal to resign as Delhi CM

“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 and not sit on the CM chair till I get a verdict from the people...”

12.27 pm: We are fighting against huge enemies, says Arvind Kejriwal

CM Arvind Kejriwal says, "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..."

The Chief Minister also said that he would resign after two days, “I am going to resign after 2 days; ask people whether I am honest; till they respond, won't sit on CM's chair."

12.20 pm: ‘Conspiracies could not break our rock-like courage’, Kejriwal

While addressing the party workers, Kejriwal said, “Their conspiracies could not break our rock-like courage, we are among you again. We will keep fighting for the country like this, we just need the support of all of you.”

12.15 pm: ‘AAP just a small party that transformed the politics of this country’ says Arvind Kejriwal

CM Arvind Kejriwal 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..."

(More details awaited)