AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal on Monday hit out at Union home minister Amit Shah for suggesting that the “new trend” of running governments from jail had necessitated the bills to remove chief ministers, the Prime Minister and other ministers held in custody for 30 consecutive days, without the need for a conviction.
The BJP top brass has been, without naming Kejriwal, repeatedly citing his example — where he ran the government for 160 days from behind bars — to push the bills.
Kejriwal demanded punishment for those who induct tainted leaders into political parties and get their criminal cases dismissed. “If a person includes people guilty of serious crimes in their political party, clears all their cases and makes them ministers, deputy chief ministers or chief ministers — should such a minister or Prime Minister also resign from their post?” the AAP leader posted on X in Hindi.
“If someone is falsely accused and sent to jail, and later proven innocent, then how many years of jail should the minister who framed the false case get?” Kejriwal questioned.
He was responding to an X post from Shah’s office stating: “If someone goes to jail in a case with a sentence of more than five years and does not get bail within 30 days they will have to resign from their post but not have to leave post for minor allegations.”
Kejriwal was arrested in March last year by the Enforcement Directorate in an excise policy-linked money-laundering case, making it the first such action on a sitting chief minister.
The government introduced the bill in the recently concluded monsoon session of Parliament, triggering a furore among Opposition parties that allege that it would lend legitimacy to the targeting of political opponents.
Kejriwal slammed the BJP for “hatching a political conspiracy and framing him in a false case”.
Taking a dig at the BJP government’s performance in Delhi in the last seven months, Kejriwal said people were remembering the government that functioned from jail, as there were no power cuts or scarcity of water. He claimed Delhi was facing severe civic issues, including waterlogging, fee hikes in private schools and lack of
bus marshals.