Khurshid calls Kejriwal runaway 'groom'; more jibes at AAP leader

Farrukhabad/Gulmarg: Union Minister Salman Khurshid on Sunday called Arvind Kejriwal a runaway 'groom', as political parties hurled jibes at the AAP leader after he quit as the Delhi Chief Minister.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said Kejriwal acted in a haste by submitting his resignation on Friday over the Jan Lokpal bill, and hinted that it was probably the 'aim'.

Taking a dig at the Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) chief, Khurshid, the External Affairs Minister, said that Congress supported Kejriwal and gave him eight MLAs in 'dowry' but what could be done if the 'groom' fled away.

"We have supported Kejriwal and gave him eight MLAs in dowry...What can we do if the 'dulha' (groom) fled away," he told reporters in Farrukhabad in Uttar Pradesh.

He dismissed the allegation that Congress colluded with BJP against the Kejriwal government to block the Jan Lokpal Bill in the Delhi Assembly. "There is no understanding with BJP against Kejriwal... For protecting Constitution, all parties used to unite...," he added.

NCP leader and Union Minister Tariq Anwar accused Kejriwal of running away from his responsibilities and relinquishing his post in an unilateral manner which breached the trust of Delhi people.

"The manner in which Kejriwal has quit proves that he is a person who runs away from discharging his responsibilities," Anwar told reporters in Katihar in Bihar.

By resigning from the chief minister's post Kejriwal has proved that he has not only failed in his duties, but also breached the trust of the people of the national capital region, he added. The Union minister ridiculed Kejriwal for getting busy with his party's preparations for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections within hours of resigning as chief minister.

Omar said that if Kejriwal wanted to bring the Jan Lokpal Bill, he could have waited for Lieutenant Governor's assent.

"He(Kejriwal) acted in a hurry to submit resignation," the Chief Minister told reporters on the sidelines of a function in the ski resort of Gulmarg.

Omar said there was a set procedure on legislations followed by all states and the AAP chief should have followed it.

"When we have finance bill, which we call money bill, we send it to the Governor for assent. Only after that, it is introduced. This is the procedure we follow in all the states, and he could have done the same," he added.

The Chief Minister said perhaps it was by design that Kejriwal wanted to stage a drama so that he could resign. "Probably, it was the aim to create some drama before parliamentary elections so that he can resign," Omar said.

Union Minister and Congress leader Sriprakash Jaiswal said Kejriwal quit the post as he was unable to fulfil promises he had made to people before the assembly polls.

"Since the time Kejriwal took charge as Chief Minister, he had been trying to quit the post as he knew he was unable to fulfil promises he had made to people before polls," Jaiswal told reporters in Kanpur.

"Had Kejriwal tried to resolve the stalemate over Jan Lokpal bill, he would have requested the Lieutenant Governor for getting approval for the bill from Union government, but he did not talk about it," he said. Jaiswal said that Kejriwal had no option other than to quit.

Union Minister V. Narayanasamy said Kejriwal was lacking in 'political and administrative efficiency' and had been playing a drama to cover up his incapability.

"How can a Chief Minister stage agitation on a main road when he should take steps to resolve the problems by evolving plans and programmes?," Narayanasamy todl a press conference in Puducherry.

Without adhering to procedures prescribed in the statute to place a bill on the table of the Assembly, he acted in a manner that smacked of political drama to domineer over all constitutional authorities, he added.

Kejriwal had resigned as Delhi Chief Minister on Friday shortly after his government was defeated on the issue of tabling of the Jan Lokpal Bill in Delhi assembly in the face of a united opposition by outside supporter Congress and opposition BJP. 

Next: Cong leader Shakeel compares Modi and Kejriwal after Delhi CM quits

Shakeel compares Modi and Kejriwal after Delhi CM quits

New Delhi/Chattarpur: Comparing Arvind Kejriwal and Narendra Modi, Congress leader Shakeel Ahmed on Sunday appeared to suggest that the Delhi Chief Minister, who has quit, was better than the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate.

Ahmed's assessment was, however, rejected by party colleague and spokesperson Satyavrat Chaturvedi who called it 'absurd'.

He made the comparison while taking a jibe at the Gujarat Chief Minister. "Kejriwal has proved himself more ethical by resigning to fulfil his national ambitions, unlike Mr Modi who is still glued to CM's chair," Ahmed, who is AICC general secretary in-charge for Delhi, said on Twitter.

His comments came two days after Kejriwal resigned after suffering a defeat in the Delhi assembly on the Jan Lokpal Bill. The AAP leader had alleged a nexus between Congress and BJP to ensure that the anti-graft legislation was not passed.

"It was an absurd statement. The one who was unable to run the government for more than 49 days despite Congress's support cannot be termed as better than Modi," Chaturvedi said, talking to reporters in Chattarpur in Madhya Pradesh.

"Both (Kejriwal and Modi) can't be termed as better. One of them is novice while the other is communal. Therefore, I am of the opinion that there is no point in making such statements as such things damage the party's image," he said.

"Besides, Modi is also a communal leader who wants to destroy the country's unity with the poison of communalism.

"Both can't be compared and needed to be discarded."

BJP leader Vijay Goel slammed Ahmed for his remark, saying that nobody wants a 'certificate' from him. He also claiemd that people wanted to see Modi as prime minister.

Before Kejriwal had quit, Congress leaders had been maintaining in private that his focus was on Lok Sabha polls and that he would not remain as Delhi Chief Minister for long as the promises his AAP party had made before the Assembly elections were difficult to fulfill.

A few days before Kejriwal's resignation, Ahmed had tweeted, "People say despite INC support AAP govt will be in minority soon due to revolt by few AAP MLAs, to hide this Mr Kejriwal will resign soon."