ONLY PRESIDENT'S RULE CAN BRING DOWN THE AAP GOVERNMENT

Arvind Kejriwal will not step down as Delhi chief minister, asserts Atishi, the veritable number two in the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi.

- SONI MISHRA, MOHIT SHARMA

In an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, Atishi insists that there is no legal or constitutional bar on Kejriwal continuing as chief minister. If he resigns, she says, it would set a dangerous precedent and provide the BJPruled Centre with a formula to topple governments run by parties opposed to it.
Edited excerpts:

Q/ How has Kejriwal's arrest impacted the AAP?

A/ This is not just about the impact on the party. This is about the attack on Indian democracy. This is the first time in India's democratic history that after the declaration of general elections, a prominent face of the opposition, a sitting chief minister, the national convener of one of the six national parties, gets arrested. There is no conviction, no charge-sheet. This is the kind of thing you hear about in failing democracies.

First, there was Operation Lotus. Then you come to governments you are not able to bring down. Here come the CBI and the ED. You file cases against these leaders, you raid them, issue summons. If they succumb and join the BJP, there would be the famous BJP washing machine and everyone gets clean and pure like Praful Patel, Chhagan Bhujbal and Himanta Biswa Sarma. If you don't succumb, like Sanjay Singh, Satyendar Jain and Manish Sisodia, you languish in jail. Hemant Soren was arrested, and now Kejriwal.

If this was actually about an investigation, about him not answering summons, they could have arrested him two months ago. But the arrest happens after the announcement of elections.

Q/ How are the recent developments affecting the party’s poll preparations?