New Delhi: BJP on Thursday asked Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to seek a fresh mandate in Delhi, saying his government has “no moral right” to continue after the high court declared several of its orders “illegal” and ruled that the Lt Governor was the city’s administrative head.
Taunting Kejriwal over his ongoing ‘vipassana’ course during which he keeps away from public eye, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said he deliberately went for the exercise now as as he knew that the verdict was due today and the court was to rule against his “illegal and unconstitutional” moves.
“AAP has received slap on its face from the legal system.
It had been misleading people of Delhi and doing this drama that the Centre was not allowing its government (to function).
They are very cunning people. Kejriwal knew that such a verdict was coming today and he went into hiding in the name of ‘vipassana’.
“A man who worships power and comments on all issues under the Sun is keeping away on the pretext of ‘vipassana’.
Knowing everything, he took unconstitutional and illegal decisions. He should face the people again. This government has no moral right to continue,” Patra told reporters here.
Another party spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao said the least the AAP government should do is to tender an apology to the people of Delhi for “misleading” them.
“This is the most corrupt and insensitive government people have seen. It should go back to the people of Delhi to seek a fresh mandate,” he told reporters, adding that 21 AAP MLAs were facing disqualification over the charge of holding the office of profit.
Referring to Kejriwal’s bitter attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in which he called him a “psychopath and coward”, Patra said the high court verdict had exposed him.
Claiming that he had also accused Modi of treating the Delhi government like Pakistan, Patra said both he and Pakistan were exposed today, a reference to Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s attack on Pakistan over terrorism in his address at South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Interiors Ministers Conference in Islamabad.
Rejecting AAP leaders’ criticism of the judgement as “objectionable”, he said the court had only stated what is there in the Constitution.
The high court said the LG is the administrative head of National Capital Territory and the AAP government’s contention that he was bound to act on the advice of Council of Ministers was “without substance”.
The decision came after months of turf war between LG Najeeb Jung and Chief Minister Kejriwal.
PTI