While most INDIA bloc allies maintained that Arvind Kejriwal’s announcement of resignation was a decision of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Delhi Chief Minister’s move brought to the fore the fissures between the Congress and the AAP. Kejriwal's announcement came just days after talks over seat sharing between the two parties in Haryana didn’t work out, with the Congress sources saying that the AAP was “demanding too many seats”. On Sunday, a section of Delhi Congress leaders termed Kejriwal's announcement “nautanki (drama)”. “He is doing drama. He has no moral ground anymore. If he had any morality, he would have resigned earlier,” said Delhi Congress leader and former MP Sandeep Dikshit. Asked about the two Opposition parties being allies nationally, Dikshit said: “That is at the national level. But in Delhi, our fight is against Arvind Kejriwal.” Echoing similar views, a senior Congress leader said the party does not want the AAP to expand too much. “They knew that an alliance in Haryana would have benefitted them. Hence, they wanted an alliance with us. But it didn’t work out. Now, for Delhi elections – whenever it happens – it will be difficult for the two parties to come together,” said the leader. According to another party leader, Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda opposed the alliance in Haryana. “While the central leadership may have some sympathy or may feel positively about the AAP, the state units are not inclined to ally with the party. The same thing happened in Haryana." “There is still a feeling in the Congress that Kejriwal is not to be trusted and hence, the party is cautious about him and AAP. He has announced that he will resign, but what is the motive? What impact will it have? We don’t know. Hence, we are waiting to see things pan out over the next few days,” said a senior Congress leader Sunday. Notably, while several INDIA bloc parties welcomed Kejriwal’s bail on Friday, the Congress top leadership, including the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, had maintained a strategic silence over the Supreme Court verdict. When asked about the court order, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate had refused to “comment on it per se”. Instead, she highlighted how the "(central investigative) agencies have been misused against rivals in the past 10 years". The differences between the Congress and AAP notwithstanding, several other INDIA bloc parties reiterated that "central agencies were being misused by the government to target the Opposition". Trinamool Congress's (TMC) Sagarika Ghose said the BJP, unable to handle electoral defeats, has tried every trick in the book to try and undermine and dislodge the AAP CM. “Kejriwal has consistently challenged and defeated the BJP in Delhi for the last decade. The BJP and the unelected Delhi LG have been interfering daily in the AAP government’s functioning and preventing an elected government from working," she said. Terming the resignation a "courageous step", she said, "The BJP is repeatedly misusing central agencies like CBI and ED in a most disgraceful and unconstitutional manner to attack every opposition leader. Kejriwal has called the BJP’s bluff and shown that he remains one step ahead of the BJP”. CPI’s D Raja shared similar views on the misuse of central agencies. However, he said the resignation is Kejriwal's prerogative. “He will have to explain to the people why he is doing so because he is an elected person. That is between him, his party and the people. They have not consulted INDIA bloc parties. It is their (AAP's) independent decision. It is for the party to explain to the people what is their future course of action,” Raja said. Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha said there was a need to pay attention to what the court said while granting bail. “Apart from his statement (on resignation), there is a need to pay attention to that too. When Hemant Soren ji was released, what did the Supreme Court say? We need to pay attention to that. What did the court say when Arvind Kejriwal was granted bail? It is important to note what the court. It is important to see that through these institutions, the political game is being played by the BJP. I feel there will be a full stop to it. There will be an end to political vendetta started by two people in the last 10 years,” he said.
