NEW Delhi, February 10 (PTI): Upping the ante over the Jan Lokpal Bill, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tonight threatened to resign if his pet anti-graft legislation is not passed by the state Assembly due to lack of support from other parties.
A day after he told PTI that he can “go to any extent” over the “huge” issue of corruption, Kejriwal said he does not have the right to stay in office if the contentious legislation does not get the approval of the Assembly. The Bill is 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, can sacrifice CM seat a hundred times,” Kejriwal said, adding the “Government will fall if the Jan Lokpal Bill and the Swaraj Bill is not passed.” Bringing the Jan Lokpal bill to contain corruption was a key election promise made to the voters by his Aam Aadmi Party(AAP).
“To establish Swaraj in the country, CM’s seat can be sacrificed thousand times. I have not come here to become the CM,” the AAP supremo told reporters. “I did not come here to become the chief minister. I have come here to remove corruption from the country. “I am ready,” he said when asked whether he was ready to quit on the iseue of Jan Lokpal and Swaraj Bills.
The Jan Lokpal Bill and Swaraj Bill will be tabled on the floor of the Delhi Assembly on February 13, the chief minister said. In a House of 70, AAP’s strength has been reduced to 27 including the Speaker after its MLA Vinod Kumar Binny was expelled from the party while the Congress has eight legislators. The BJP has 32. “Corruption is extremely important issue and I will go to any extent,” Kejriwal said during an interaction with PTI editors at the agency’s head office here yesterday.
Asked if he would resign, Kejriwal had responded by affirming that he could go to any extent over the “huge” issue of corruption. “That (resignation) you interpret,” he added. Asserting that both Congress and BJP will never allow passage of the bill, Kejriwal had said since the government has decided to probe the alleged corruption in Commonwealth Games projects, Congress’ “pitch” has become more “shrill” in this regard and also there are allegations against BJP, which is in power in MCD for past seven years.
Kejriwal’s comments yesterday came two days after he sent a strongly-worded letter to Lt 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. “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,”
he said.
Questioning the validity of the MHA order, Kejriwal said government will not send the bill to the Home Ministry for approval. The Constitution says Delhi government has “power to make law except in three subjects. But they cannot make any law which is repugnant to any central law. If they are, and if President grants assent after the passage of the law, then that also can be done.”
“That means we do not have to take approval before introduction of a bill. That is the power given by the Constitution to Delhi. Constitution is supreme. Law-making powers of an assembly have to defined by the Constitution and not by anybody else,”
he said.
Last week, Delhi Cabinet cleared the draft of the much talked-about Jan Lokpal bill which provides for covering all public servants --from chief minister to Group D employees -- and seeks life term as maximum punishment for those found guilty of corruption. The Swaraj Bill intends to give the people direct power to curb corruption at the local level.
AAP govt loses majority, MLA withdraws support
NEW Delhi, February 10 (TNN): The AAP government on Monday lost majority in the Delhi assembly as Independent MLA Rambeer Shokeen withdrew support. AAP has now been reduced to a minority government.
JD(U) legislator Shoaib Iqbal, Shokeen and expelled AAP legislator Vinod Kumar Binny on February 2 had asked Kejriwal to meet their demands, among others, for slashing power and water tariff and enhancing women’s security, or else they would withdraw support to his government. Iqbal and Shokeen met Kejriwal on February 3 and claimed that the chief minister had assured them of action on their demands.
Shookeen who is an MLA from the Mundka constituency met LG Nejeeb Jung today apprising him of his decision to withdraw support to the government. Shokeen said he quit after chief minister Arvind Kejriwal reneged on his promises to solve the power and water problems in Delhi. The AAP won 28 seats in the 70-member house in the December 2013 Delhi assembly elections and formed the government with the outside support of the Congress, which won eight seats.
The BJP won 31 seats and the Akali Dal and Janata Dal-United one each, while an Independent candidate was also elected. Of the AAP’s 28 lawmakers, one was elected speaker while Binny was expelled for anti-party activities, bringing the party’s effective strength down to 26.
‘Kejriwal’s attitude to governance will harm India’
New Delhi, February 10 (Agencies): In her most vocal criticism yet of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his former anti-corruption colleague Kiran Bedi hit out at the AAP convener saying he lacked governance skills and his party was constantly misleading the country.
“Peace has been disturbed and progress has stopped since AAP has come to power in Delhi,” Bedi said in an interview to IBN-18 editor-in-chief Rajdeep Sardesai. “He thinks everyone is hostile and only he is right... a government cannot function in this manner... I’ve worked with the Delhi Governor before and all three (police, governor and government) have worked together to curb crime.”
When asked what her stand on Kejriwal’s Jan Lokpal Bill was, Bedi said the debutante Delhi government was misleading people over the corruption watchdog. “How can they call it Lokpal? Lokpal is the central bill that has already been passed... It’s a law... What they are talking about is the Delhi Lokayukta which already exists and needs to be amended...,” she said, adding that Kejriwal’s government had not even circulated the bill to other parties. “The Delhi government has not circulated the bill to other parties (BJP, Congress) ... they are reading about it in the papers,” she alleged.
BJP Delhi leader Harsh Vardhan also hit out at Kejriwal this morning, stating that the party was ready to pass the Jan Lokpal bill, but had not received any copy of the draft bill thus far. Bedi further said that there was a larger problem in the way Kejriwal was functioning, and it could harm the fabric of the country. “I have a dispute with the manner in which he (Kejriwal) is going around... with confrontation you’ll never get what you need... this will affect the country.” She also hit out at the media for giving the AAP government unnecessary coverage saying they (AAP) just want to be in the limelight. “How do you allow so much airtime for such wrong information? We are looking at constructive news, not obstructive news,” she said.
On being asked about her preference for the next government, Bedi said she preferred a stronger government and of the two central parties she would choose the BJP. “We have two central parties, one did not deliver, and therefore I’m looking at the BJP... I’m choosing Modi because as an Indian I want to play safe...,” she said, adding “for me it is India first,” which is incidentally also the BJP’s poll slogan for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. She however denied that she was looking to join any political party saying she would continue to be a part of civil
society.
Bedi had in a series of tweets attacked Kejriwal for threatening that he would resign if the Jan Lokpal bill was not passed. “I wonder if the Delhi Lokayukta bill is drafted to be passed? Or was it to cause major confrontation to walk away while blaming many others!” Bedi had tweeted late Sunday evening. She had also claimed that Kejriwal was seeking Anna Hazare’s support now, but did not even remember the Gandhian during his swearing-in as Chief Minister. “At swearing-in as CM Delhi, AK completely forgot Anna! There was no expression of gratitude even! Now Anna’s support being sought yet again!!” she had tweeted.
