Photo Credit -Sipra Das /New Delhi- 18th of September, 2024
- Atishi’s letter to Delhi Lt Governor doesn’t specify swearing-in date
- She is likely to take oath without a Cabinet at swearing-in ceremony
- Arvind Kejriwal’s resignation addressed to President Droupadi Murmu
New Delhi, Delhi, 18th of September, 2024: Delhi Lt Governor VK Saxena has proposed September 21 as the date for the swearing-in of Chief Minister-designate Atishi in a written communication to President Droupadi Murmu.
This came after Arvind Kejriwal tendered his resignation as the Delhi Chief Minister to the Lt Governor on Tuesday and Atishi staked claim to form a new government in Delhi.
India Today has exclusively accessed copies of Arvind Kejriwal’s resignation letter from his post as Delhi Chief Minister, as well as Atishi’s letter staking her claim to form the new government.
Arvind Kejriwal’s resignation letter was addressed to President Murmu rather than the Lt Governor. “I, along with my Council of Ministers, hereby tender our resignation. The same may kindly be accepted,” the letter read. This one-sentence letter underscored the strained ties between Kejriwal and the Lt Governor. Interestingly, Arvind Kejriwal met VK Saxena in person to tender his resignation.
According to sources, the Lt Governor has moved outgoing Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s resignation to President Murmu.
In her letter to the Lt Governor, Atishi formally staked her claim to form the government without specifying a preferred date for her swearing-in. She requested the Lt Governor to fix the date. Following this, the Lt Governor proposed September 21 as the date for the swearing-in.
Atishi’s letter also touched upon her future Cabinet, though she did not disclose any names yet. “I will intimate the names of other ministers who would be sworn in in due course,” she wrote. This means that as of now, the Cabinet remains undecided, and Atishi is likely to take the oath alone on the appointed day.
On September 15, Arvind Kejriwal, who was granted bail by the Supreme Court in the Delhi liquor policy case, announced that he would resign as the Chief Minister in the next two days.
He proposed Atishi’s name at the AAP Legislature Party meeting, which was unanimously accepted by the party’s MLAs. Sources said there would be no Deputy Chief Minister.
The AAP has 62 MLAs and BJP eight in the 70-member Delhi Assembly.
After Atishi was announced as the Chief Minister, the AAP MLA from Kalkaji Assembly constituency thanked Arvind Kejriwal, whom she called a ‘guru’ and said that the AAP chief would return as the Chief Minister soon.
News Mania Desk /Photo Credit -Sipra Das (National Consulting Photo Editor)
18th September 2024 ,(with inputs from PTI)
