Delhi CM Kejriwal resigns over delay in Jan Lokpal bill

• Posted by boss 664 February 15, 2014 - Filed in Arts & Culture - 2,052 views

  
  

  (Reuters) - Activist-turned-politician Arvind Kejriwal resigned as chief minister of Delhi on Friday, frustrated by obstacles put in the way of an anti-corruption bill, and immediately proposed fresh elections for the capital.

  A former tax collector who heads the fledgling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Kejriwal made a stunning debut in the city's state elections in December, tapping into public disgust with corruption and misgovernance.

  The Jan Lokayukta bill would have set up an ombudsman with the power to investigate politicians and civil servants. Kejriwal had wanted it to be passed in the Delhi assembly in the coming days, but the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) thwarted him, arguing that it must be approved by the central government first.

  Kejriwal announced he was standing down after a chaotic stand-off that had paralysed the Delhi assembly through the day, with lawmakers bawling at each other and some trying to snatch the microphone of the legislature's speaker.

  "The Delhi assembly should be dissolved and fresh elections should be held," he said, holding up a copy of his resignation letter at his party's headquarters as supporters outside cheered, despite a chilling downpour of rain.

  Kejriwal shook up political landscape with promises to change a rotten system, just months before a national election that is due by May. One of his first actions in office was to encourage citizens to use cellphones to record government workers who demand bribes, then call a hotline to report them.

  He also eschewed guards, a motorcade, and a luxurious government bungalow - the symbols of privilege enjoyed by judges, senior civil servants and politicians in Delhi.