Arvind Kejriwal walks with supporters towards a police barricade after spending the night on the street during a sit-in protest. (File Photo)
Arvind Kejriwal today resigned as Chief Minister after his anti-corruption Jan Lokpal Bill was blocked in the Delhi Assembly by MLAs of the BJP and the Congress. Though Mr Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) government was only in power for 49 days, it was a tenure riddled with controversies.
Following are the top five controversial statements by AAP leaders:
Law Minister Somnath Bharti's midnight raid on Ugandan women
On January 15, Delhi Law Minister Somnath Bharti led a midnight raid where Ugandan women were allegedly abused over local complaints of a sex and drug trafficking ring.
Mr Bharti, along with supporters and some residents, allegedly accosted the African nationals as part of their "raid" on a sex and drugs racket in a building in Khirki Extension, which is in the minister's Malviya Nagar Constituency. He also took along a police team, who say he tried to bully them into arresting the women without a warrant or evidence.
The raid created a huge furore with the BJP and the Congress, along with activists, demanding Mr Bharti be sacked.
Kejriwal's dharna to support Somnath Bharti
Arvind Kejriwal on January 20 defied police orders, urged the capital to join him on a 10-day protest in the heart of the city, and declared defiantly, "Yes, I am an anarchist."
Mr Kejriwal and his ministers sat on protest near the Rail Bhawan, close to the office of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the President's House, demanding the union Home Ministry to suspend three police officers who refused to make a series of arrests ordered by his ministers.
Somnath Bharti says he would spit on Arun Jaitley, Harish Salve
There was massive outrage over Mr Bharti's comment that he wanted to spit on the faces of Arun Jaitley and Harish Salve because the two had criticised his vigilantism.
"I want to spit at the faces of BJP leader Arun Jaitley and senior lawyer Harish Salve to tell them to mend their ways... I warn you, the public is going to hound you and beat you," he had said on January 20.
Prashant Bhushan's comments on J&K referendum on Army
In January, Senior AAP leader Prashant Bhushan had sparked a controversy by talking of a referendum in Jammu and Kashmir to decide whether the people want the army to handle internal security.
Speaking on NDTV's show "We The People", he had said that in keeping with participatory democracy, locals in the Kashmir Valley should be allowed to determine whether they want the army for internal security or not. "It is very important to take the wishes of the people into consideration about their own security," he said.
AAP's Vinod Binny revolts, calls Arvind Kejriwal a dictator
On January 17, Vinod Kumar Binny went public with a catalogue of grievances against AAP and Mr Kejriwal. "The party does not function democratically. Five people take all the decisions, Arvind gets angry if people expresses any differences with him. He is a dictator. If anyone speaks against him, he starts shouting," he said.
The AAP said Mr Binny's dissent was based on the fact that he had not been given a ticket for the Lok Sabha elections.
Post a comment