Dealt a blow by the Supreme Court that ruled against his government's plea for powers of transfer and posting of officials, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal made it clear that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will demand full statehood to Delhi, a major poll plank for the coming Lok Sabha elections.
Terming the judgment a grave injustice to the people of Delhi, Kejriwal said the solution to the issue lay with the people and appealed to the Delhi public to elect AAP candidates in all seven constituencies of the capital.
“There is only one solution to the problem, and it is with the people of Delhi. I want to appeal to the people of Delhi, in this Lok Sabha election, elect AAP in all the seven seats of Delhi. I have full confidence that in the coming five years, we will force whoever forms government at the Centre to give Delhi full statehood,” Kejriwal told reporters.
Expressing disappointment with the court's verdict, he said, “If a government can't even transfer its officers, how is it supposed to function? The party that has 67 seats does not have the rights, but the party that won three seats has the rights.”
He remarked that the chief minister who got elected with a thumping majority does not have the power to transfer even a single peon. “How will he run the government after this judgment?” he asked.
On the court's decision that the Anti Corruption Branch falls under the union government, Kejriwal said that for the past 40 years, the ACB has been under the Delhi government. “If someone comes to me with a complaint regarding corruption, what should I do as chief minister? Do I ask the Opposition? Should I ask the BJP to then do something about it?”
Reacting to former chief minister Sheila Dikshit having welcomed the judgment, he claimed that his government does not have even ten per cent of the powers that the Dikshit regime enjoyed.
On the possibility of the AAP and the Congress allying in Delhi for the Lok Sabha polls, Kejriwal said the national party has “nearly said 'no'”, even as he indicated his party's keenness for a poll tie-up.
“The whole country wants the Modi-Shah duo to be defeated in the 2019 elections. For that, it is very important that wherever there is a BJP candidate, only one candidate from the opposition camp should stand. The anti-BJP votes should not get split. In Delhi, if two candidates stand against the BJP, it will benefit from it. In Uttar Pradesh, if another candidate besides the SP and BSP contests, the BJP will gain from it,” Kejriwal said.
