Kailash Gahlot, a key minister in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi, has resigned, potentially impacting the party's ambitious plan to roll out a Rs 1000 monthly honorarium scheme for women ahead of the Assembly polls in February. Gahlot, who represented the Jat-dominated Najafgarh constituency in West Delhi, cited several issues, including the "Sheeshmahal" controversy over his former official residence, the Delhi government's tussle with the Centre, and the failure to clean the Yamuna River, in his resignation letter. Delhi BJP leaders welcomed Gahlot's resignation, fueling speculation that he could join the party before the assembly polls. However, AAP leaders claimed Gahlot resigned due to pressure from central agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate, and that joining the BJP was his last option. Gahlot's resignation has sparked speculation about his future and the impact it will have on the AAP's electoral prospects.
The Enforcement Directorate said it has no objection if the AAP leader Sanjay Singh is given bail in the case.
Firecrackers were burst outside the CM's residence after his release from the Tihar Jail on Friday evening. The Aam Aadmi Party workers had gathered to welcome their leader.
Kejriwal said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should not talk about fighting corruption as a Bharatiya Janata Party MLA in Karnataka was not arrested despite a huge amount of cash was found at his home.
Despite the towering image of BRS supremo and Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, along with the party's extensive grassroots network and welfare programmes, the perceived inaccessibility of its leaders contributed to the growing anti-incumbency sentiments.
The Aam Aadmi Party led by its chief minister designate Atishi staked claim to form a new government in Delhi on Tuesday shortly after Arvind Kejriwal resigned from the post, an effort seen as a bold gambit to seize the initiative ahead of assembly elections due in five months.
Arvind Kerjiwal, who resigned as Delhi chief minister on Tuesday, is likely to focus on galvanising the AAP cadres and rebuilding trust among the people before the assembly polls, a senior functionary said.
I was offered Delhi CM's post or face jail term, Sisodia said.
Before surrendering, Kejriwal paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi at the Raj Ghat, offered prayers at the Hanuman temple in Connaught Place and addressed Aam Aadmi Party leaders and workers at the party office.
She said the Delhi CM was jailed because he built schools, provided free electricity and opened Mohalla Clinics.
Kejriwal has so far skipped multiple summonses of the ED, calling them illegal and asking the agency to wait as the matter was in court.
The Supreme Court on Thursday steered clear of the political talk about it having made an exception for Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in granting him interim bail for campaigning in the Lok Sabha polls but said 'critical analysis of the judgment is welcome'.
The court disposed of a public interest litigation that sought directions to prevent Kejriwal from issuing orders in his capacity as the chief minister while in ED custody, contending that it was against the legal framework.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday cited Delhi's alleged 'liquor scam' to accuse Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao of being under 'remote control' of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Trump trade shock is a chance to push long-overdue reforms, rather than tinker with tariffs to appease the US, suggests M Govinda Rao.
The AAP renominated Sanjay Singh and ND Gupta for a second term in the Upper House of Parliament, party sources said on Friday.
Pawar said in the last 10 years, people have voted Kejriwal to power, adding that Aam Aadmi Party ministers have been jailed and steps were being taken to arrest him as well.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has sought extension of his interim bail by seven days from the Supreme Court to undergo a host of medical tests, including a PET-CT scan in view of his 'sudden and unexplained weight loss, coupled with high ketone levels', which are indicatives of kidney, serious cardiac ailments and even cancer.
Sisodia's arrest, one of the high-profile actions against an opposition leader, came after that of Satyendar Jain, Delhi's then health minister, in June last year.
Factors such as anti-incumbency, voter fatigue, and dissatisfaction among the youth contributed mainly to the poor showing of Bharat Rashtra Samithi in the Telangana legislative assembly election on Sunday.
Speaking in the Delhi Assembly on Wednesday, Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party over the Supreme Court overturning the outcome of the Chandigarh mayoral poll.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested the commercial head and production controller of India Ahead News in connection with a probe into the alleged Delhi excise scam, officials said Monday.
Justice Khanna, who will serve as CJI for a little over six months, will demit office on May 13, 2025.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday skipped the third summons by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the Delhi excise policy case and cited Rajya Sabha polls, Republic Day preparations and the probe agency's 'non-disclosure and non-response approach' as reasons for not appearing before it.
The AAP will run a signature campaign from December 1 to 20 to get people's feedback on whether Arvind Kejriwal should resign as Delhi chief minister if he is arrested under a 'conspiracy by the Bharatiya Janata Party', the party's city convener Gopal Rai said Thursday.
Kejriwal said no bar can keep him inside and he will soon return.
Sisodia on Sunday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that the trial court judge was in a "hurry" and did not afford a reasonable opportunity to the prosecutor to oppose Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's bail in a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise scam.
'A first-time politician can only get such opportunities in AAP. Had I been in some other party, I wouldn't even have got a ticket to contest polls'
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Sunday that he would resign after two days and sought early polls in the national capital while vowing not to sit in the chief minister's chair till people give him a 'certificate of honesty'.
Kejriwal asserted that his party could not be crushed by sending its leaders to jail.
'Kejriwal could have easily deputed someone to step in as chief minister, but being the authoritative and self-centered personality that he is, he chose not to do it.' 'If the AAP loses Delhi, where it has a huge majority, the only one to blame would be Kejriwal,' asserts Ramesh Menon.
A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta told Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the Enforcement Directorate, that the hearing on Kejriwal's plea against arrest is likely to take time and therefore, the court was considering hearing the probe agency on interim bail to him.
Sisodia had sought bail to attend to his ailing wife.
In more than one way, it's a setback for the DMK and Chief Minister Stalin in political terms. The electoral fall-out, if any, will have to wait until the next summer, only when assembly elections are due in the state, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
Kavitha, 46, a Telangana Legislative Council member, was arrested by the central probe agency from her residence at Banjara Hills in Hyderabad Friday evening.
Sisodia hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he only thinks of destabilising governments in non-BJP states by poaching MLAs.
Atishi will have a brief tenure in office as assembly elections in the national capital are due in February.
The CBI on Sunday deferred the questioning of Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in connection with the Delhi Excise policy scam case after he sought time from the probe agency citing the city government's ongoing budget exercise.
The Delhi government will not be run from jail, Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena said on Wednesday in the backdrop of statements by Aam Aadmi Party leaders that Arvind Kejriwal will continue as chief minister even if he is behind bars.
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