Kejriwal threatens to resign if the Bill is defeated The Aam Aadmi Party government has decided to table the Jan Lokpal Bill in the Assembly on Friday, with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal reiterating on Thursday that he will resign if the Congress and the BJP legislators “seek voting on introduction of the Bill and defeat it”. “Passing the Lokpal and Swaraj Bills is the commitment of the Aam Aadmi Party. We have distributed a copy of the Bill to all the legislators. It will be tabled in the Assembly on Friday. However, if it is not allowed to be introduced in the House by members, I will resign,” Mr. Kejriwal said. Mr. Kejriwal said his government will table the Bill in the House despite Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung disapproving the move without the Centre’s consent, stating that “the Delhi Government has already made it clear that the Union Home Ministry ruling is unconstitutional and the Delhi Cabinet has already passed a resolution to repeal the rule”. Mr. Jung expressed disapproval after taking opinion on the matter from the Solicitor-General and the Union Law Ministry. While both the Congress and the BJP have been maintaining that they are in favour of passing a strong Lokpal Bill, the parties said they would support the Bill only if the AAP government follows the procedures involved. Arvinder Singh, State unit president of the Congress providing outside support to the AAP government, accused the Delhi Government of deliberately by-passing rules. “Had they been serious in passing the Bill, they would have followed the procedure and got it vetted by the Centre,” he said. Mr. Kejriwal, however, charged that the Centre “is taking away the right of the AAP government to legislate even a repugnant law’. “The Constitution provides the States to legislate even if it is repugnant to a Central law. Ultimately the law would be sent to the President for his assent. But by not allowing to introduce a Bill in the Assembly, they are taking away the right of the Delhi Assembly to legislate,” he said. The Delhi Government has also decided to introduce the Swaraj Bill, passed by the Delhi Cabinet on Thursday, in the ongoing session of the Assembly. “A copy of the Bill will be provided to the legislators on Friday and it would be tabled in the Assembly whenever it meets next,” said Mr. Kejriwal, adding that the session could be extended to next week if it is not allowed to conduct business over the weekend. Mr. Kejriwal also defended the decision of the AAP government to introduce the Swaraj Bill in the Assembly without putting it up in the public domain for discussion and suggestions. “We have framed the Bill after taking suggestions from several sections. It has also been well debated, both within and outside the party,” said Mr. Kejriwal.