New Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday proved his majority, accusing the BJP of trying to topple the Delhi government after the CBI raided Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s place for alleged malpractices in the new liquor policy. He had called a one-day special session on Friday to prove his majority, which lasted for five days. No legislative business took place during this period. He proved his majority on Thursday, getting 59 votes in support of his government.
All BJP MLAs walked out of the house before voting on the trust vote. All the AAP members present in the house voted in favor of the government. Earlier, Kejriwal had said that he moved the confidence motion to prove that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s ‘Operation Lotus’ has failed in the national capital. Kejriwal said in the House that the central agency CBI can arrest Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia. He claimed that this would increase AAP’s votes.
There was no vote against the government as three BJP MLAs Vijender Gupta, Abhay Verma and Mohan Singh Bisht were marshalled out of the assembly after a tussle with Deputy Speaker Rakhi Birla. Birla did not accede to his demand to look into the notice regarding calling attention motion before the discussion on the confidence motion. After this the rest of the BJP MLAs staged a walkout from the house.
Kejriwal, who was trying to project the Aam Aadmi Party as an alternative to the BJP during the discussion on the trust vote, said at the national level there are only two parties – the hardline honest party and the hard dishonest party. The Chief Minister said that the CBI officers can arrest Manish Sisodia. He claimed that AAP’s vote share in Gujarat elections would increase if Sisodia was arrested.
Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party MLA Atishi on Thursday said that she has sought an appointment with President Draupadi Murmu to brief her about the alleged attempts by the Bharatiya Janata Party to destabilize various state governments in the country. Atishi tweeted- I have sought an appointment with the Honorable President of India’s Democracy. A delegation of Aam Aadmi Party MLAs wants to meet him to discuss Operation Lotus- BJP’s attempt to destabilize state governments across the country, he said.
