Arvind Kejriwal should resign as chief minister, public morality demands it, says ex-Supreme Court judge
Rastogi referred to J Jayalalithaa, Lalu Prasad Yadav, and Hemant Soren, who all resigned as chief ministers ahead of their arrests in corruption cases. "You can't take any paper to the sitting chief minister in custody and get him signed. I am very firm in my view that the public morality demands it (resignation)," he said.
- Apr 2, 2024,
- Updated Apr 2, 2024 4:05 PM IST
Former Supreme Court judge Ajay Rastogi on Tuesday said Arvind Kejriwal, currently in jail, should resign as the Delhi Chief Minister. He said Kejriwal is holding a high office of a chief minister and it is a public office. "If you are in custody, I feel that it is not good for a person in custody to continue in office. The public morality demands that one must quit," the judge said while speaking to news agency ANI.
Rastogi referred to J Jayalalithaa, Lalu Prasad Yadav, and Hemant Soren, who all resigned as chief ministers ahead of their arrests in corruption cases. "You can't take any paper to the sitting chief minister in custody and get him signed. I am very firm in my view that the public morality demands it (resignation)," he said.
The former top court judge said that in the government service, if an employee is in custody for 48 hours, s/he is deemed under suspension. "Here you are in custody for so many days and god knows how long. Merely because there is no provision that doesn't give you the authority to continue. So I think somebody must have to take a call. I am personally of the view that even if there is no provision, morality demands for taking action," he said.
Arvind Kejriwal, arrested by the ED on March 21, has been sent to jail till April 15.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has made it clear that Kejriwal would not resign and run the government from the jail. According to PTI, AAP MLAs today met Kejriwal's wife Sunita Kejriwal and asserted that the Delhi chief minister should not step down. During the meeting on Tuesday, the AAP MLAs told Sunita Kejriwal that two crore people of Delhi stand with the chief minister and he should not resign at any cost, party leaders said.
Of the AAP's 62 MLAs in Delhi, 55 were present during the meeting. Four MLAs are out of station while three -- Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and Satyendar Jain -- are in jail, the AAP leaders said.
The BJP has demanded that Kejriwal should resign as chief minister following his arrest in connection with the alleged liquor policy scam.
Former Supreme Court judge Ajay Rastogi on Tuesday said Arvind Kejriwal, currently in jail, should resign as the Delhi Chief Minister. He said Kejriwal is holding a high office of a chief minister and it is a public office. "If you are in custody, I feel that it is not good for a person in custody to continue in office. The public morality demands that one must quit," the judge said while speaking to news agency ANI.
Rastogi referred to J Jayalalithaa, Lalu Prasad Yadav, and Hemant Soren, who all resigned as chief ministers ahead of their arrests in corruption cases. "You can't take any paper to the sitting chief minister in custody and get him signed. I am very firm in my view that the public morality demands it (resignation)," he said.
The former top court judge said that in the government service, if an employee is in custody for 48 hours, s/he is deemed under suspension. "Here you are in custody for so many days and god knows how long. Merely because there is no provision that doesn't give you the authority to continue. So I think somebody must have to take a call. I am personally of the view that even if there is no provision, morality demands for taking action," he said.
Arvind Kejriwal, arrested by the ED on March 21, has been sent to jail till April 15.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has made it clear that Kejriwal would not resign and run the government from the jail. According to PTI, AAP MLAs today met Kejriwal's wife Sunita Kejriwal and asserted that the Delhi chief minister should not step down. During the meeting on Tuesday, the AAP MLAs told Sunita Kejriwal that two crore people of Delhi stand with the chief minister and he should not resign at any cost, party leaders said.
Of the AAP's 62 MLAs in Delhi, 55 were present during the meeting. Four MLAs are out of station while three -- Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and Satyendar Jain -- are in jail, the AAP leaders said.
The BJP has demanded that Kejriwal should resign as chief minister following his arrest in connection with the alleged liquor policy scam.