Delhi minister Kailash Gahlot quits AAP

In a massive setback to Aam Aadmi Party months ahead of Delhi Assembly polls, senior minister and long-term party leader Kailash Gahlot has resigned. Gahlot was in charge of key portfolios in the Delhi government, including Home, transport, IT and Women and Child Development.

In his resignation letter addressed to party convener Arvind Kejriwal, the 50-year-old leader has pointed to “grave challenges” AAP is facing from within. “Political ambitions have overtaken our commitment towards people, leaving many promises unfulfilled. Take for example the Yamuna, which we had promised to transform into a clean river, but never got around to doing it. Now the Yamuna River is perhaps even more polluted than ever before,” he has said.

In addition to criticising the failure to deliver on key election pledges, Gahlot also addressed the controversy surrounding Kejriwal’s new official bungalow. “There are many embarrassing and awkward controversies like the ‘SHEESHMAHAL’, which are now making everyone doubt whether we still believe in being the AAM AADMI,” he added.

Gahlot further lamented the continuous friction between the Delhi government and the central government, which he claimed has severely hampered the capital’s progress. “Another painful point has been the fact that instead of fighting for people’s rights we have increasingly only been fighting for our own political agenda. 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 the majority of its time fighting with the Centre.”

“I had started my political journey with the commitment to serve the people of Delhi and I want to continue doing that. Which is why, I find myself left with no option but to step away from AAP and hence I resign from the primary membership of the Aam Aadmi Party,” Gehlot added in his letter.

Delhi Minister Kailash Gahlot, who holds portfolios including Transport, Administrative Reforms, IT, Home, and Women & Child Development, has also submitted his resignation to the Council of Ministers, Government of NCT of Delhi.