New Delhi | In a jolt to AAP ahead of the Delhi Assembly polls, senior leader and Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot quit the party on Sunday, alleging "political ambitions" have overtaken its commitment towards people.
"Instead of fighting for people's rights we have increasingly only been fighting for our own political agenda," the 50-year-old said in his resignation letter to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal.
Gahlot, a prominent Jat leader in the party, also took a jab at Kejriwal as he flagged some "awkward" and "embarrassing" controversies like 'sheeshmahal', saying it makes everyone doubt if "we still believe in being 'Aam Aadmi'".
The BJP had dubbed Kejriwal's former official residence 6 Flagstaff Road as 'sheeshmahal', alleging that he spent crores on luxury items and modern facilities.
Gahlot also spoke out against the Delhi government spending "the majority of its time fighting with the Centre" and the failure to clean the Yamuna River.
AAP leaders said Gahlot was facing ED and CBI probes and had no option but to join the BJP. They alleged it was a "dirty political conspiracy" of the BJP which was "misusing" central agencies.
"Pressure was created on Kailash Gahlot through ED and CBI raids, and now he is speaking according to the BJP's script," AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh told reporters.
The BJP said that Gahlot quit the party like several others in the past because AAP has moved away from the values it once stood for to serve the interests of its convenor Arvind Kejriwal.
In a swipe at AAP, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said it has undergone "political conversion" to become "khas" (privileged). It is now the Arvind Aadmi Party, the BJP leader said.
Gahlot, the MLA from Najafgarh, tendered his resignation from the council of ministers with immediate effect. Official sources said the resignation was accepted by Delhi Chief Minister Atishi.
His portfolios will remain with the chief minister and a communication towards this effect was sent to the Delhi LG for his nod, they said.
In April, Raaj Kumar Anand stepped down as Social Welfare minister in the AAP government and quit the party. He joined the BJP in July. Rajendra Pal Gautam, a former minister in the AAP government, quit AAP and joined the Congress in September.
In his letter to Kejriwal, which was shared on X, Gahlot said that the "Aam Aadmi Party faces grave challenges. Challenges from within, to the very values that brought us together to AAP. 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 before," he said.
The resignation by Gahlot, who was incharge of portfolios of Home, Administrative Reforms, IT and Women and Child Development, comes at a time when the party is gearing up for the Delhi Assembly polls slated to be held in February next year.
"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," Gahlot said.
Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva welcomed Gahlot's resignation, saying he took a brave step.
"Gahlot stepped down raising the same issues for which the BJP was protesting and fighting against Kejriwal and AAP. His resignation proves that even AAP leaders do not consider Kejriwal an honest politician," Sachdeva said.
AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak, however, said it was not a setback for the party as AAP was formed because of two crore people of Delhi.
"A party cannot be formed or broken because of just one person. Every person is free to choose their path and we wish them all the best," he said.
BJP leader and Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta called AAP a sinking ship, a view echoed by Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav.
"He (Gahlot) has made some clear allegations against the party. He has pointed towards the pollution in the Yamuna River and the controversies around 'sheeshmahal'. AAP leaders are now either leaving the party or are getting arrested on corruption charges. AAP has now become a sinking ship," Yadav said.
Gupta said Gahlot's resignation "will act as the last nail in the coffin for AAP".
Gahlot represented the Jat-dominated Najafgarh constituency in West Delhi since 2015. The ripples of his resignation are sure to be felt in the rural belt of outer Delhi areas that have a significant presence of the community, sources said.
Although Gahlot's resignation took many by surprise, it was not altogether unexpected as he was feeling "alienated" within AAP, they said.
Last year, he was divested of important portfolios of Revenue and Finance that were handed over to Atishi. Further, he was overlooked by Kejriwal, who was in jail, when he decided to nominate a minister to unfurl the tricolour on the chief minister's behalf on Independence Day this year.
Gahlot finally unfurled the national flag at the Delhi government function after the Lt Governor decided in his favour, although Kejriwal wanted Atishi to do so, the sources said.
Again, Gahlot was bypassed by Kejriwal who chose Atishi as his successor following his decision to step down as chief minister.
