Arvind Kejriwal Resignation News Live Updates: 'He never listened ...,' Anna Hazare reacts to Kejriwal's 'will quit' decision

"I have decided that I will also go to the court of the people along with Kejriwal ji and only when the people will approve my honesty in the elections, I will sit on the chair of deputy chief minister-education minister," he said.

"I told him since the beginning that you should not join politics but serve the people. We have worked together for many years and told him the same thing. He never listened to me and today what had to happen has happened," he said.

"Central agencies are being run from BJP's office itself. Arvind Kejriwal is a fearless leader. Today, he is fighting for the Constitution and the country without any fear... Many leaders like Anil Deshmukh, Sanjay Raut are fighting for the country without any fear," he said.

"They (BJP) accused me of theft, corruption, deceiving Bharat Mata etc. I came to do something for my nation. When Lord Ram came after 14 years, Maa Sita had to give an 'agnipariksha', I am also ready to give my 'agnipariksha'. The central government snatched my power by putting several laws. The only thing that I have earned in my life is honesty. Some people say that we will not be able to work because of restrictions imposed by the SC. Even they did not leave any stone unturned in imposing restrictions on us... If you think I am honest, vote for me in large numbers. I will sit on the CM's chair only after being elected. The elections are supposed to be held in February. I demand elections be held in November with Maharashtra elections... Till elections are held, someone else from the party will be the Chief Minister. In the next 2-3 days, a meeting of the MLAs will be held, where the next CM will be decided," he said.

"Aam Aadmi Party's national convenor @ArvindKejriwal has announced his resignation from the post of chief minister of Delhi after two days… (He) also appealed to the people of Delhi that if he is honest, then they should vote for him in the upcoming Delhi Assembly polls... Only an honest and pro-people thinking leader can say this," Mann said.

"75 years after the independence achieved after Bhagat Singh's martyrdom, a revolutionary CM went to jail. I had written only one letter from jail and that was to LG that I am in jail and Atishi should be allowed to hoist the flag in my place. My letter did not reach me and instead, I was warned that if I wrote again, I would not be allowed to meet my family. Even the British had not thought that in independent India, there would be a bigger dictator than the British in this country. even Britisher wouldn't have thought that there would come a crueler ruler than them," said Kejriwal.

"Kejriwal has said two things- union government has been using ED, CBI and central agencies to target opposition parties. This is what our party and other INDIA bloc are saying; he would like to resign and he will come back with the people's mandate. In a democracy, as we are today it is the prerogative of Kejriwal and his party to take any political decision...It is their independent decision," he said.

"Why didn't he resign earlier? We are staunch opponents of Lalu Yadav but he too resigned from the post of chief minister. Jharkhand CM (Hemant Soren) too resigned from his post. Was he scared that the chair would slip out of his hands? Why does he need two days?... The person who led the movement against big corruption will make such a compromise with corruption, today the people of India have bowed their heads in shame," he said.

"He wants that elections should be held in Delhi and he wants to go among the people...He wants to go among the public so that they can decide and it is a good thing. He is not hungry for power," he said.

"The people of Delhi made Arvind Kejriwal the chief minister because of his honesty... but the way BJP ran a mega campaign for the last 2 years to prove Arvind Kejriwal corrupt, they failed to do so. All the leaders came out of jail. For the first time in the history of the world, a leader has openly declared that if he (Arvind Kejriwal) is honest then vote for him, if not then don't vote... Arvind Kejriwal has handed himself over to the people. Now the people will decide whether he is honest or dishonest," he said.

"Today chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has tried to put a moral cover on the compulsions of his bail condition but the people of Delhi are very intelligent. The people know that if Arvind Kejriwal had to resign then why does he need 48 hours? ... The condition of Delhi is deteriorating because the Kejriwal government has not done any work, it has only done publicity and corruption," she said.

"If anyone wants to learn how to turn compulsion into achievement, learn from Arvind Kejriwal... If it had been any other person, if it would have been Arvind Kejriwal of 2011-12, he would have resigned before going to jail or would have resigned after going to jail...He can only sit in the Sheesh Mahal after doing ceremonial acts," he said.

"Today only one thing is clear two days' time is being taken so that Sunita Kejriwal can be made the chief minister...Arvind Kejriwal is going to create a Manmohan Singh-like system. Just like Sonia Gandhi used to run the government with Manmohan Singh's face...This is being done so that the public's anger against him (Arvind Kejriwal) can be reduced... If he had to resign, he would have done it after going to jail for the first time. These are acts of calling compulsion as achievement," he added.

"A person, who used to speak against dynastic politics and corruption, has decided to resign from CM's post after staying in jail for 177 days in the liquor policy scam. This is just a sympathy card as he has realised the anger among people against him," he said.

Kejriwal presented his recent announcement as a moral stance, indicating that he will not assume the chief minister's role until he receives a "certificate of honesty" from the voters. Election experts believe this strategy is designed to address increasing concerns about corruption and governance issues under his leadership, while also uniting the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and its supporters around a theme of integrity and accountability.

After Kejriwal announced that he would resign from the CM post in two days, Atishi addressed a press conference where she said that the party would demand assembly elections in Delhi at the earliest.

"Today's day will be remembered as a historic day in the nation's politics...No leader in history has ever said only vote for me if I am honest otherwise don't vote...Arvind Kejriwal can't tolerate corruption, dishonesty," she said.

"Arvind Kejriwal's decision to resign came from the pain that no one from Delhi should ever think that he is corrupt...BJP has been harassing Arvind Kejriwal for the past two years...They have not been able to recover even a single rupee of corruption from any leader of AAP...We demanded that elections should be contested as soon as possible...The public will give a huge mandate to Arvind Kejriwal's honesty," she added.

"From the past two years, BJP has been levelling allegations against all the leaders of AAP that they are dishonest, corrupt...Even after two years, ED and CBI don't dare to start a trial against Arvind Kejriwal," he said.

Supreme Court has given bail to Arvind Kejriwal but he wants to go among the public to give agni-pariksha and will sit on the chief minister's chair only after giving the agni-pariksha...He(Arvind Kejriwal) is the only Chief Minister who after resigning from his post is saying only vote for me if I am honest otherwise don't vote for me," he added.

'This will put a full stop on BJP’s political game. I think he has given a signal that AAP MLAs will elect a new CM'

Calling the resignation announcement of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal a "drama," the Bharatiya Janata Party attacked the AAP chief and said that Arvind Kejriwal is a master of "political manoeuvring," adding that he is deliberately talking about resignation to gain "sympathy."

BJP leader Shazia Ilmi in a self-made video said that the Delhi chief minister said that he should have resigned a long time ago.

For the last two years, BJP has left no stone unturned to harass AAP. Thousands of raids were conducted but they could not present any proof of corruption...BJP is afraid of elections. BJP knows that the people of Delhi are angry about the way false allegations were made against Arvind Kejriwal.

That is why the BJP does not want elections because they know that the people of Delhi will express this anger in their votes. If elections are held today, the people of Delhi will not give a single seat to the BJP. 70 out of 70 seats will go to the Aam Aadmi Party.

Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, announced his decision to resign from his position in two days. He stated he would not return to the role unless the people of Delhi declare him honest in the upcoming 2025 Delhi elections.

Arvind Kejriwal resigned from his first government in just 49 days, owing to his principles. His only aim is to work for the country. Today the kind of accusations being put on Arvind Kejriwal by the BJP can't be tolerated by any self-respecting person. Ever since Arvind Kejriwal formed government in Delhi, he has had no power.

At every step, he has been stopped from performing his duties... The court has buried Arvind Kejriwal... It was the people who put their trust in Arvind Kejriwal and elected him as their CM. So now it will be the people who will decide if he should continue to be the CM of Delhi. He did not resign from prison because he wanted to set a trend that if you are being dominated by a dictator, you have to stand up to your morals, democratic values and the constitution."

After Arvind Kejriwal announced to step down as Delhi CM within two days, BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari labeled it a 'PR move,' accusing Kejriwal of attempting to restore his tarnished image. Bhandari suggested that Kejriwal is adopting a strategy similar to Sonia Gandhi’s, where she made Manmohan Singh a figurehead PM while controlling the government behind the scenes.

He further claimed that Kejriwal realizes his reputation as an honest leader has been damaged and that the Aam Aadmi Party is now widely seen as corrupt. According to Bhandari, this is a calculated move to salvage his image as AAP faces the possibility of losing the upcoming Delhi elections, and Kejriwal plans to shift blame onto someone else.

After the Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal announced to resign from the Delhi chief minister post after two days', AAP MP Raghav Chadha on Sunday said, 'Mukhyamantri ji agni-pariksha se guzarne ke liye taiyyar hai," adding that the people of the national capital will declare the Chief Minister "honest" by voting for the party in the upcoming 2025 Delhi elections.

BJP leader Harish Khurana says, "If he wants to resign, then why not today? This is a drama that he will ask the people. The people are asking you if the court has given a verdict that you can't go to the Secretariat, you cannot sign a file, then what is your justification to be in the CM position?... You are a CM on bail. You are not acquitted, you are a CM who is on trial. You didn't resign when all work in Delhi stopped and you were in jail for 6 months..."

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Sunday that he plans to step down in two days, calling for early elections in the capital and vowing not to reclaim his position until the people give him a "certificate of honesty." Kejriwal, who was released on bail from Tihar in the excise policy graft case on Friday, mentioned that he would soon meet with AAP MLAs, and another party leader would take over the role of chief minister.

"Delhi elections are due in February, but I demand that elections in the national capital be held in November with Maharashtra," he said.

"I will only sit on CM's chair after people give me a certificate of honesty. Want to give 'agnipariksha' after coming out of jail."

Kejriwal, the national convener of AAP, also said, "I will become chief minister and Manish Sisodia deputy CM only when people say we are honest."

He accused the BJP of attempting to portray him as corrupt, arguing that the party is unable to provide good schools and free electricity due to their own corruption. "We are honest," he insisted.

"They slap false cases against non-BJP chief ministers. If they are arrested, I urge them not to resign but run the government from jail," the Delhi chief minister said.

"I didn't resign (after arrest in excise policy case) because I respect democracy and the Constitution is supreme for me," Kejriwal emphasized, asserting that AAP is the only party capable of standing up to the BJP's "conspiracies."

Recalling his 2014 resignation after just 49 days in office over the Jan Lokpal Bill, Kejriwal said, "I resigned then for my ideals. I do not have a lust for power."