NEW DELHI, April 12: Delhi Cabinet minister Atishi on Friday alleged that a big political conspiracy is being hatched by the BJP-led central government to impose President’s rule in the national capital.
“Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest is a political conspiracy to topple his government. We have learnt from reliable sources that in the coming days, President’s rule will be imposed in Delhi. But imposing President’s rule in Delhi will be illegal and against the mandate of people,” she said at a press conference here.
Reacting to the AAP leader’s charge, the BJP said it was surprising that the fear of President’s rule is haunting the AAP, which has 62 MLAs in the 70-member Delhi Assembly.
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At the press conference, Atishi claimed that in recent times, many events have taken place that indicate the possibility of the imposition of President’s rule in the national capital.
In the last few months, no senior IAS officer has been posted in Delhi, she said.
“Posts are lying vacant in departments but no postings have taken place. Bureaucrats have stopped attending meetings called by ministers, citing the Model Code of Conduct. The lieutenant governor has been writing letters to the MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs) over the functioning of the Delhi government,” she said.
Atishi further said the BJP already knows that it cannot come to power in Delhi.
“The AAP defeated the BJP in the Delhi assembly elections in 2015 and 2020. That is why they want to topple the Delhi government. However, the imposition of President’s rule would be illegal since the Delhi government enjoys a majority. We proved our majority through a floor test on February 17 this year,” she said.
Later in the day, Atishi’s cabinet colleague Saurabh Bharadwaj spoke in the same vein.
“The BJP and the lieutenant governor are talking about a constitutional crisis in Delhi. This shows that there is a conspiracy to impose President’s rule in Delhi. The BJP has been defeated twice in Delhi in 2015 and 2020 and it knows it cannot form the government in Delhi. Even if elections are held today, Arvind Kejriwal will win,” he said.
“President’s rule was imposed in Delhi throughout 2014. We had approached the Supreme Court at that time. Subsequently, elections were held and the AAP came to power in 2015.
“People gave them a reply for imposing President’s rule. If President’s rule is imposed in Delhi, the people of Delhi will again give them a reply,” he said.
Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva hit out at the AAP, saying it was surprising that the fear of President’s rule is haunting the AAP, even though it has a majority in the assembly.
“Atishi’s usual false narrative of her victimisation and the ‘Operation Lotus’ story were replaced by a new story early this morning. Today, she has said that President’s rule is likely to be imposed in Delhi,” he said.
Sachdeva also demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case.
“It would be better if Arvind Kejriwal resigns. Hand over the government to a new chief minister and let Delhi’s administration run properly,” he said.
Kejriwal has been arrested by the ED in the money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped 2021-22 Delhi excise policy. He is in judicial custody till April 15 and is currently lodged in Tihar jail. (PTI)
