New Delhi : Aam Aadmi party leader Atishi, who has been picked as the successor of Arvind Kejriwal after he announced his resignation as Delhi Chief Minister, has affirmed that she will work for the next few months with the goal of returning Kejriwal to the post after the upcoming elections.
Expressing gratitude towards AAP Supremo Arvind Kejriwal, Atishi while addressing a Press conference on Tuesday said, “First, I would like to thank the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for giving me such a big responsibility and showed trust in me. This can happen only in Aam Aadmi party that a first time politician becomes Chief Minister of a state”
“As much as I am happy for being given such a big responsibility, I am also sad that the Delhi Chief Minister is resigning. The BJP has left no stones unturned, creating hindrances for the AAP. Made all central agencies run behind him,” Atishi said.
Urging the people to re-elect Arvind Kejriwal in the upcoming elections in the national capital, Atishi said, “The people of Delhi, Aam Aadmi party MLAs and I, who will remain the Delhi CM till the next elections will work with one resolution that we need to make Arvind Kejriwal the Chief Minister of Delhi again. On behalf of all AAP MLAs and the 2 crore people of Delhi, I want to say that that there is just one CM of Delhi – Arvind Kejriwal”.
Addressing media after Atishi took over as the Chief Minister, Delhi Minister Gopal Rai reiterated party’s demand for early elections in Delhi and said that Atishi would carry responsibilities of the Chief Minister unless Arvind Kejriwal is elected by the people with a “thumping” majority.
“When he (Arvind Kejriwal) decided to resign, legislative party meeting was held today. In the meeting it was unanimously decided that until the next elections, that we want to be held in October-November at the earliest, and people make Arvind Kejriwal the Delhi CM with a thumping majority, Atishi would carry out the responsibilities as the new CM,” Delhi Minister Gopal Rai said while addressing a press conference.
Speaking to the media, Delhi government minister Kailash Gehlot who was also seen as a potential candidate for taking over the CM seat said, “Everyone unanimously agreed on Atishi’s name”.
On Saturday, Kejriwal announced that he would resign and would not resume as the CM until the people of Delhi declared him “honest.” He has also called for advancing polls in the national capital to November this year, ahead of the scheduled February elections.
Kejriwal stated that if re-elected by the public, it would serve as a “certificate” of his honesty. He added that he would push for early elections, alongside those in Maharashtra.
The announcement by the 54-year-old leader came two days after he was released from the Tihar jail after being granted bail by the Supreme Court in a corruption case related to the alleged Delhi Excise Policy scam.
The apex court also imposed certain conditions on Kejriwal’s release, including that he must refrain from making public comments about the case and must attend all hearings before the trial court unless exempted.