Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal has bly reacted to the proposed bill to remove the Prime Minister and Chief Minister from office after arrest in criminal cases.
PM-CM Bill: Former Delhi Chief Minister and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal has bly opposed the statement of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. This statement is related to the bill that mentions the process of removing the Prime Minister, Chief Ministers, and ministers from their statutory positions and taking action upon arrest for serious crimes. In his statement, Kejriwal questioned whether leaders who include those convicted of serious crimes in their party, get their cases dismissed, and make them ministers, deputy chief ministers, or chief ministers should also resign from their posts, and how many years of imprisonment they should face.
Arvind Kejriwal further wrote that if someone is falsely implicated in a case and sent to jail, and is later acquitted, how many years of imprisonment should the minister who filed the false case face?
Arvind Kejriwal's Statement
Kejriwal said on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), "If a person goes to jail on charges of a serious crime and is later acquitted, should he resign from his post? Should such a minister or prime minister also step down from their responsibility?" He clarified his point with an example, "When the Center sent me to jail under a false case as part of a political conspiracy, I ran the government from jail for 160 days."
Kejriwal also said that the people of Delhi are now missing that 'government from jail' because at that time, electricity and water services were smooth, and free medicines and tests were available in hospitals and Mohalla Clinics, while the situation is the opposite today.
Amit Shah's Statement
Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently said in an interview with news agency AAI, "If a person goes to jail for a crime punishable by more than five years and does not get bail within 30 days, he will have to resign from his post. This will not happen for a minor charge. But those who have corruption or serious charges against them, it is not appropriate for them to run the government while in jail."
In this context, Shah cited the incident of 2015-16 and said that when Kejriwal was in jail, the High Court had said that he should resign from his post on the basis of morality. However, there was no provision in the law at that time to enforce it.
Kejriwal Retaliated to Amit Shah's Statement
Arvind Kejriwal retaliated to Amit Shah's statement by saying that during his jail term, he smoothly managed the capital Delhi. He also said that the current government of Delhi has affected the basic services of the city in the last seven months. He said, "At least during our government's time in jail, there were no power cuts, there was no water problem, free tests and medicines were available in hospitals and Mohalla Clinics. Private schools could not act arbitrarily. Today, the condition of all these is very bad."
Kejriwal questioned whether there should be any law or provision for punishment against those who made false cases for their political gains. His statement also reflects a direct opposition to the bill and a demand for judicial review in policymaking.
