Jan Lokpal row: Kejriwal threatens to quit, Delhi govt to fall on 16 Dec?

Saying that the Jan Lokpal and Swaraj bills were more important than any post, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal threatened to resign if the Congress did not support his government in passing the legislation. Kejriwal, whose Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has 27 members in the 70-member assembly and is propped up by the Congress’s eight members and two others, asserted that he did not join politics to become the chief minister. He also reiterated that the central government’s permission was not needed to pass the Jan Lokpal bill. [caption id=“attachment_1381477” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Kejriwal has vowed to get the bill passed or quit trying: PTI[/caption] He said his government intended to get Jan Lokpal and Swaraj bills passed in the assembly session, for which dates have already been suggested. The latter aims at decentralisation of power and provides for the formation of empowered “mohalla sabhas”. The two bills would be tabled in the assembly on 13 February, Kejriwal said, adding that his government intended to get the Jan Lokpal bill passed at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium on 16 February. He contended that the constitution provides that Delhi government can pass any law except those relating to police, law and order and land, and there was no need to send the Jan Lokpal bill to the central government for prior clearance. Asked what will he do if the Congress does not support the bill, Kejriwal said: “They may not do. If they do not support, I will resign. After that, people will teach them a lesson.” “For me, Swaraj bill is important, Jan Lokpal bill is important. I did not come to (politics to) become chief minister,” he said. “Hundreds of posts of chief minister can be sacrificed for the Jan Lokpal bill,” he said, warning the government will fall if the Jan Lokpal and Swaraj bills are not passed. Meanwhile Zee News quoted Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely as saying “Congress has always maintained that it will support the Jan Lokpal Bill. Our only request to the AAP government is to follow the rules and respect the Constitution. The CM is not above the Constitution.” The AAP government and the Congress seemed headed for a showdown over the Jan Lokpal bill, with Kejriwal saying the central government’s okay was not needed, while the Congress reiterated that it would not support the bill as it was “unconstitutional”. The BJP has also attacked the AAP government for trying to push it “in an unconstitutional manner”. The differences came out in the open after the Solicitor General reportedly told Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung that the bill needed to be referred to the central government. IANS