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Events leading to resignation of Arvind Kejriwal

Forty-nine days after he took charge of a minority Delhi government, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Friday resigned following a tumultuous day in the assembly where combined Congress and BJP legislators "defeated" his AAP's attempts to introduce its signal Jan Lokpal bill aimed to curb corruption in high places.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal addresses his supporters before announcing his resignation from his party headquarters in New Delhi on February 14, 2014. - Reuters

Here is the list of events leading to resignation of Arvind Kejriwal

Feb 3: Chaired by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi cabinet cleared the draft of the Jan Lokpal bill.

Feb 6: Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran writes to Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung terming the Jan Lokpal Bill “unconstitutional”.

Feb 7: Unfazed by solicitor general’s opinion, Kejriwal said he will write to Jung on plans to enact the Jan Lokpal bill without the centre’s concurrence.

Feb 9: Kejriwal said the central government’s permission was not needed to pass the bill.

Feb 9: He also met his erstwhile mentor Anna Hazare at Maharashtra Sadan in the national capital to inform him about the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s plan to introduce Jan Lokpal and Swaraj bills in the assembly.

”To remove corruption from the country, (I) can sacrifice the CM’s seat a 100 times,” Kejriwal told a gathering, adding, “The government will fall if the Jan Lokpal bill and the Swaraj bill are not passed.”

Feb 10: Kejriwal met Jung and discussed various issues relating to the Jan Lokpal bill.

Feb 10: In a statement, the Lt. Governor’s office said to avoid any dispute in the matter and to obtain full clarity, Jung has referred the issue to the law ministry for a “final opinion”.

Feb 12: Union law ministry upheld Jung’s stance that centre’s nod is mandatory for introducing the Jan Lokpal bill.

Feb 13: Despite law ministry’s ruling, Kejriwal decides to introduce the bill in the assembly on the first day of the special session. However, the bill could not be introduced because of repeated disruptions in the house, which finally had to be adjourned.

Feb 14: Kejriwal and his cabinet ministers resigned after the bill could not be introduced. While 42 legislators - including from the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Congress, the JD-U and an Independent - voted against its introduction, 27 AAP lawmakers were for it.