New Delhi: AAP leader Atishi, who was elected as the next chief minister of Delhi on Tuesday, thanked ‘guru’ Arvind Kejriwal for giving her “such a huge responsibility”. In her first reaction to the Aam Aadmi Party’s announcement, the minister said she was sad that Kejriwal would resign as the chief minister today.
After getting bail in the Delhi excise policy case last week, Arvind Kejriwal announced on Sunday that he would resign as the chief minister of Delhi within 48 hours. He said he would not assume the role of the chief minister of Delhi until he got a “certificate of honesty” from the people of the national capital. He demanded that the Election Commission conduct the Delhi assembly elections in November.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today announced that Atishi will succeed Arvind Kejriwal.
“I want to thank Delhi’s popular CM, my guru, Arvind Kejriwal, for giving me such a huge responsibility. It can happen only in AAP that a first-time politician can become the CM. I come from a normal family. If I would have been in any other party, I wouldn’t have even got a poll ticket,” Atishi said, per PTI.
Atishi said Arvind Kejriwal made her an MLA and a minister in the Delhi government.
“Arvind Kejriwal trusted me, made me an MLA, minister and today gave me the responsibility to become the CM. I am happy that Arvind Kejriwal has shown so much trust in me, but more than that I am sad because my elder brother Arvind Kejriwal is resigning today,” she added.
She further said Delhi has only one CM – Arvind Kejriwal.
“I want to say today on behalf of AAP MLAs and two crore people of Delhi that Delhi has only one CM and his name is Arvind Kejriwal,” she added.
Atishi, one of the tallest leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party, single-handedly took on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) when senior AAP leaders like Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh were incarcerated in corruption cases. Atishi held several key portfolios and defended the Delhi government’s policies in their absence.
Arvind Kejriwal was arrested on March 11 by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the Delhi excise policy case. He was released on bail by the Supreme Court last week under the condition that he would not enter the chief minister’s office.
The Bharatiya Janata Party claimed that Kejriwal decided to resign as the chief minister because of the Supreme Court’s conditions.