Kailash Gahlot quits AAP citing 'grave challenges'; party says ED, I-T Department pressure forced move

New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday received a jolt ahead of Assembly elections in Delhi with its senior leader and transport minister Kailash Gahlot quitting the party and government after flagging "grave challenges" faced by them following "awkward" and "embarrassing" controversies.

Quick to dismiss it as BJP's "dirty political conspiracy", AAP said Gahlot had no option but to join the saffron party as he was facing a series of investigations by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Income Tax Department. Before the Lok Sabha elections, Raj Kumar Anand also quit AAP to first fight the polls with a BSP ticket and later join the BJP.

The resignation came to light in the afternoon after the 50-year-old Najafgarh MLA posted his letter to Kejriwal in which he referred to "grave challenges", which included the AAP's political ambition overtaking their commitment towards people, leaving many promises unfulfilled. He sent a separate letter to Chief Minister Atishi, resigning from the Delhi Cabinet.

"Now there are many embarrassing and awkward controversies like the 'Sheesh Mahal' which are now making everyone doubt whether we still believe in being the ‘Aam Aadmi’ (common man)," Gahlot wrote to Kejriwal.

Gahlot also said "another painful point" has been that they were "increasingly only fighting for our own political agenda" instead of fighting for people's rights.

"This has severely crippled our ability to even deliver basic services to the people of Delhi. it is now obvious that real progress for Delhi cannot happen if the Delhi government spends majority of its time fighting with the Centre," he said.

His references in the letter include the unkept promise of cleaning the holy Yamuna River, which he said has "become more polluted than ever before", and 'Sheesh Mahal' appeared to echo the allegations levelled by the BJP in the recent years. The BJP has alleged that Kejriwal had spent lavishly to renovate the Chief Minister's official residence and dubbed it 'Sheesh Mahal'.

Incidentally, Gahlot, who was holding portfolios like Home Department, was the minister chosen by Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena to hoist the tricolour on Delhi government's Independence Day celebrations after rejecting then jailed Chief Minister Kejriwal's choice of Atishi unfurling it.

Kejriwal did not directly comment about Gahlot but was present at a press conference to induct BJP leader Anil Jha into AAP, where senior leader Durgesh Pathak said that Gahlot had no option but to go to the BJP, as he was facing a series of raids and investigations by the central agencies.

"It is now clear that the BJP has comprehensively lost the upcoming Delhi elections. They do not have any issue left. They do not have anything to offer. They are fighting the elections with the help of ED and IT,” Pathak said.

Welcoming the resignation, Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said Gahlot took a “brave step”.