The resignations of Manish Sisodia and Satyendra Jain have raised more questions than answers to the puzzle.
The double resignation came shortly after the Supreme Court refused to entertain Manish Sisodia's plea to challenge his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
While Sisodia's resignation letter was undated, Jain's note was handwritten and dated February 27. Both letters were sent to Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena for acceptance on February 28.
Meanwhile, Delhi BJP questioned the resignation of Sisodia from the Cabinet with the poser whether this was voluntary or forced resignation.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal accepted Sisodia and Jain's resignations but some purported discrepancies in the matter have come to the fore.
Sources said the timing of both resignations has also come under scrutiny as Jain's handwritten letter was dated February 27 but the resignation of both ministers was formally announced on February 28.
They said Sisodia could not have written his elaborate and typed, undated letter in jail.
The question is whether Sisodia signed the resignation letter before getting questioned and arrested by CBI. Another question is whether Jain's plain and handwritten resignation was taken after Sisodia signing on the papers.
If Sisodia had resigned earlier and Jain on February 27, why were the announcements of resignation made in the evening of February 28? What game did Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal play in getting rid of Sisodia and Jain?,”, the sources have questioned. In the letter to Kejriwal, Jain said he was thankful for the opportunity given to him. "I hereby tender my resignation as a minister of the Government of GNCTD of Delhi. I am highly thankful for giving this opportunity to serve the people of Delhi. My resignation may kindly be accepted," he wrote. Jain has already been lodged in Delhi's Tihar Jail for the last 10 months in connection with the money laundering case.
Shortly after the SC order, Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain's resignations were formally announced late Tuesday evening. Both Sisodia and Jain, have played a pivotal role in implementing Kejriwal's governance agenda of good education and health facilities in the national capital. In his three-page resignation letter, Sisodia claimed that the real target of the criminal action against him was party chief Arvind Kejriwal.
The Delhi Deputy Chief Minister said: “Their target is not me, but you [Kejriwal] because today, the people of Delhi as well as the rest of the country see you as a leader who has a vision for the country.”
Sisodia claimed that preparations are on to file more cases against him. “They tried hard to make me leave your [Kejriwal’s] side,” he said. “When I did not bow down before them, today they have arrested me and put me in jail.”
“Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamare dil main hai, dekhna hai zor kitna baazu-e-qatil main hai,” a poem by firebrand poet from Bihar Bismil Azimabadi found mention in the resignation letter of Delhi deputy Chief Minister, who resigned from the Delhi Cabinet on Tuesday night, following graft charges against him in the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 case. The lines translate to: The desire for revolution is in our hearts, we shall see how much strength lies in the arms of the enemy. The apparent reference is to the ruling BJP, which has been persistently attacking AAP and its leaders over the corruption allegations.
Sisodia claimed that the allegations of corruption have been levelled against Kejriwal by those people who are 'scared' of his politics. "The people of the country who are battling poverty, unemployment, inflation and corruption see Arvind Kejriwal as a hope. They don't see him among the leaders who believe in 'jumlas' as Kejriwal does what he speaks", he said.
In his resignation letter, Sisodia lamented that “despite working with honesty and integrity for eight years, allegations of corruption” were levelled against him, while asserting that the “allegations are in fact nothing more than a conspiracy hatched by cowardly and weak people who are scared of (Delhi Chief Minister) Arvind Kejriwal’s politics of truth”.