Arvind Kejriwal Turns Mic Away On Being Asked About Kailash Gahlot’s Exit | Watch

Last Updated:November 17, 2024, 16:35 IST

Kailash Gahlot has been a part of Kejriwal’s government since 2015.

Former Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday refused to answer the question on Delhi minister and senior leader Kailash Gahlot’s resignation from the party.

During a press meet held to welcome former BJP leader Anil Jha in AAP, Kejriwal was asked about Gahlot’s shocking and sudden exit from the party days ahead of Delhi legislative assembly elections. The AAP supremo promptly turned the mic towards party leader Durgesh Pathak who was sitting next to him.

However, when the reporter insisted for Kejriwal’s response, he said with a smile, “You want an answer, right?”

Pathak accused the BJP of putting indirect pressure in the name of false investigations and probes on Gahlot. He said that the former Delhi minister had no choice but to resign.

“So he did not have a choice. But this makes it clear that BJP has lost the Delhi election. They have no issue, they are fighting on the basis of ED, CBI and Income Tax and we are fighting on people’s issues,” he said.

AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh also charged the BJP for “conspiring against their leaders” by putting them under pressure using central probe agencies. Singh said that Gahlot had “no option” but to leave the party as he came under pressure after Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax raids, which were held against him many times in the last five years.

“Kailash Gahlot has been raided by the ED, Income Tax many times. He was part of the government for five years, and the BJP was continuously conspiring against him, he was left with no other option but to go with the BJP,” he said.

Kailash Gahlot, who held the Administrative Reforms, Transport, Home, Women and Child Development, and Information Technology portfolios in the Delhi Cabinet, submitted his resignation to Kejriwal, stating that he had ‘no option’ but to step down due to the “embarrassing and awkward controversies” linked to the party.

Gahlot has been a part of Kejriwal’s government since 2015. He posted the two resignations – from the party and from the cabinet – on the social media platform X.

He cited the controversies linked with “Sheesh Mahal”, and said that it has made everyone doubt whether they still believe in being Aam Aadmi (Common Man). Last year, Kejriwal was accused of “spending Rs 45 crore” on the renovation of CM’s official residence, which the BJP named as ‘Sheesh Mahal” in an apparent jibe.

He also expressed disappointment over the issue of cleaning of river Yamuna. “Take for example the Yamuna, which we had promised to transform into a clean river, but never got around to doing it,” said Gahlot, adding that the Yamuna river is perhaps even more polluted than before.

Gahlot’s exit comes weeks after party Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal turned rebel, although she remains an MP from the party. The assembly polls are due in Delhi in 2025 as the term of the current assembly will end in February 2025.