Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has threatened to quit if the anti-corruption Jan Lokpal Bill is not passed in the state assembly.
Kejriwal said the bill, which provides for an anti-graft ombudsman, would be tabled in the assembly on February 13.
“Jan Lokpal Bill is more important than the government's survival... Delhi government will fall if there’s no Jan Lokpal,” the chief minister said in an exclusive interview with NDTV.
The Congress, which provides external support to the Aam Aadmi Party, has accused Kejriwal of looking for an escape route as he had failed to deliver on his promises to voters before the Delhi election.
“Congress is ready for a debate on Jan Lokpal, but it will not accept the bill in an unconstitutional way,” Party Spokesperson Amrita Dhawan said.
The latest conflict between the Centre and the AAP government followed a legal opinion by Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran to Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung that the Home Ministry must clear Kejriwal’s Bill before it is debated and voted upon by the Delhi legislature, because the Lokpal will be funded partly by the central government and a similar national law has been enacted recently.
The Chief Minister accused the Lieutenant Governor of taking his cues from the central government to stall the Jan Lokpal bill, and warned he would “go to any extent” to pass the bill that was the centrepiece of his anti-corruption campaign that won a massive thumbs-up from Delhi’s voters.
The opposition BJP made it clear that they would not let Kejriwal take an easy way out.
