New Delhi: Congress' Sandeep Dikshit on Monday criticised Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's resignation announcement, calling the decision more about business than politics.
"The problem with Kejriwal is that if he hands over the power to someone who will start opening his files, hands over to someone who will stop the flow of money, then he will be ruined. This is not a normal transaction; this is a business deal, the shares are being transferred. No sacrifice to anyone else," he said.
Dikshit who has been a staunch critic of the Delhi CM also described the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as an "industry of business." "Sometimes they deal in black money, sometimes in white money, sometimes in the liquor business, sometimes in the bus business. So it takes time in business; you must have seen that the chairman has changed. Talks are held with the shareholders and the transfer is done. Now you consider this as a normal spirit of service," Dikshit said.
Dikshit also alleged that Kejriwal's resignation and subsequent call for elections are tactics rather than genuine acts of public service. "You too have not yet come out of the foolish mess of 2012-13. If you do, you will be able to handle it. This is not a political change. These shares of the company are being transferred," he said.
Regarding Kejriwal's statement that he will only return as Chief Minister if elected by the people, Dikshit said, "He said that he is in favour of the people, so he demanded elections along with the Maharashtra elections. Even if he gets a majority in the elections, he becomes the Chief Minister. So the case for which he went to jail, the case for which he has said that he will resign, that case will remain even then."
The former Lok Sabha MP also underlined that the public's role is to elect leaders but not to absolve them of legal issues. He stated, "The public decides who is its popular leader, who can be its Chief Minister, who can be its MLA. It is the right of the public to decide who is clean, who is corrupt or not, who is a thief or not, who has done something wrong or not. It is not in the jurisdiction of the public; it is decided by the police. The police understand whether he is an accused or not is decided by the court."
The son of former Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit condemned the idea that a leader's election can absolve them of past wrongdoings, saying, "A person cannot change by talking nonsense. What do you think he will be the Chief Minister? I am saying that a person who seems suitable to them, who can put a veil on all their activities, who can go to him, in whose jurisdiction the file does not go, the officers do not start speaking differently, and the stream that is flowing from there continues to flow."
Dikshit drew parallels between Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren. He said, "Two Chief Ministers got bail: Hemant Soren got bail and Kejriwal got bail. When Hemant Soren got bail, he became the full Chief Minister as he was before. They have been kept under suspension. The officer who is suspended, on whom the court passed a no-confidence motion."
He then commented on Kejriwal's current situation: "The court said you can remain as the CM, we cannot remove you, but you cannot read files, you cannot sit on the chair, you cannot go to the office. It means the court said that you are not fit, in today's situation, to become a Chief Minister. This is incompetence."
Arvind Kejriwal's announcement to resign and seek public validation through elections has sparked major debate and criticism from various political quarters.
