Kejriwal's 'meek surrender' to Majithia: Apology to Jaitley next? 10 points
Facing a political turmoil at home, Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal appears to have decided to take a step back from his past brand of combative politics and settle the attendant defamation cases -- in particular, the one initiated by former Punjab minister and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia. After Kejriwal tendered a writtem apology to Majithia for alleging the latter was involved in drug trade in Punjab, the SAD leader said he would withdraw his defamation suit against the chief minister. However, Kejriwal still has to contend with a defamation suit filed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, among other cases.Kejriwal withdrew his allegations and an application regarding this was filed in a trial court in Amritsar, where the defamation case filed by Majithia
against the AAP supremo on May 20, 2016, is being heard. "In the recent past, I made certain statements and allegations against you regarding your alleged involvement in drug trade. These statements became a political issue. Now, I've learnt that the allegations are unfounded," Kejriwal said, adding: "Hence, there should be no politics on such issues. I hereby withdraw all my statements and allegations made against you and apologise for the same." Responding to this development, Majithia said that he had accepted the apology. "I thank Kejriwal for showing greatness in seeking apology for his remarks made against me. I have told my lawyers that from our side, this case ends as Kejriwal has sought apology...," he said. However, not everybody in Kejriwal's party was in sync with the chief minister's decision. He drew flak from leaders in the AAP Punjab unit for his move. Meanwhile, Delhi AAP leaders hinted that a similar apology might be issued in a bid to end the defamation case filed by Arun Jaitley, too. Here are the top 10 developments around Arvind Kejriwal's apology to Bikram Singh Majithia: 1) Arun Jaitley could be next on the list: There's another defamation case Kejriwal has to contend with -- the one filed by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. After the chief minister issued his apology to Majithia, the question on many people's mind was whether the AAP supremo would extend a similar apology to Jaitley, too. Now, it appears that he just might. Sources in the AAP have indicated that the party might resort to a similar tactic for dealing with the defamation cases filed by Jaitley against Kejriwal and other AAP leaders, agency reports said. In December 2015, Jaitley had filed a defamation case against Kejriwal and AAP leaders Kumar Vishwas, Ashutosh, Sanjay Singh, Raghav Chadha, and Deepak Bajpayee. Jaitley had claimed that Kejriwal and others made 'false and defamatory' statements in a case involving the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) and in the process harmed his reputation. The finance minister sought Rs 100 million (Rs 10 crore) in damages. 2) AAP's Punjab leaders cry 'meek surrender': The Aam Aadmi Party's Punjab unit leaders called the apology to Majithia a "meek surrender".
Further, they described Kejriwal's step as a "letdown". AAP's Punjab leaders could hardly suppress their astonishment and anger over the move. Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly and senior AAP leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira took to Twitter and vented his disagreement with Kejriwal's actions.
ARTICLE SOURCE- BUSINESS STANDARD.