In an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, Atishi insists that there is no legal or constitutional bar on Kejriwal continuing as chief minister. If he resigns, she says, it would set a dangerous precedent and provide the BJPruled Centre with a formula to topple governments run by parties opposed to it.
Edited excerpts:
Q/ How has Kejriwal's arrest impacted the AAP?
A/ This is not just about the impact on the party. This is about the attack on Indian democracy. This is the first time in India's democratic history that after the declaration of general elections, a prominent face of the opposition, a sitting chief minister, the national convener of one of the six national parties, gets arrested. There is no conviction, no charge-sheet. This is the kind of thing you hear about in failing democracies.
First, there was Operation Lotus. Then you come to governments you are not able to bring down. Here come the CBI and the ED. You file cases against these leaders, you raid them, issue summons. If they succumb and join the BJP, there would be the famous BJP washing machine and everyone gets clean and pure like Praful Patel, Chhagan Bhujbal and Himanta Biswa Sarma. If you don't succumb, like Sanjay Singh, Satyendar Jain and Manish Sisodia, you languish in jail. Hemant Soren was arrested, and now Kejriwal.
If this was actually about an investigation, about him not answering summons, they could have arrested him two months ago. But the arrest happens after the announcement of elections.
Q/ How are the recent developments affecting the party’s poll preparations?
This story is from the April 14, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the April 14, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Angry, Young America
Campus protests against the Gaza war continue to linger as students demand a realignment of US ties with Israel
We need to engage more with communities
Designer Aratrik Dev Varman of the label Tilla has long been a lover of history. One could comfortably call him part-aesthete, part-archeologist, for his clothes dip into vintage styles of the Kutch, Sindh, Balochistan and Afghanistan, bringing alive antique styles and crafts. Tilla, the store and atelier, are situated on a tree-lined avenue in Ahmedabad.
The great luxury slowdown
A year or so ago, if anyone had told me that Tommy Hilfiger would have stolen the show at New York’s Met Gala, I would have laughed. But it seems the end of giant luxury labels is upon us even before we expected it. The American ready-to-wear designer Tommy Hilfiger seems to have created the maximum media buzz at the 2024 Met Gala, according to several data analytics firms.
RAP BRINGS RAPTURE
How indie artistes, especially hip-hoppers, are driving the phenomenal rise of Malayalam music
Employability issues are a narrative created by the corporate world
Prof Yogesh Singh is the 23rd vice chancellor of the century-old University of Delhi (DU). An engineer with a PhD in computer engineering, Singh has an impressive track record of teaching, innovation and research in the area of software engineering. He has more than 250 publications and his book, Software Testing, published by the Cambridge University Press, is well-received internationally. In an interview with THE WEEK, Singh talks about trends in higher education in India, the challenges faced by big universities, and how to make higher education more interesting. Asked about the perception that Indian graduates are “not employable”, he reacts strongly, and emphasises the difference between training and higher education. Edited excerpts:
SERVING WITH DISTINCTION
Conceived as a university like no other, Jawaharlal Nehru University became India's best. Here is how
Mandela Effect and Liar's Dividend
The complex tapestry of AI's impact on society
The other Sabyasachi
I am Sabyasachi Mukherjee, not to be confused with my namesake, the celebrated fashion couturier, declared the venerated director-general of Mumbai’s pride, George Wittet’s Indo-Saracenic jewel, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, formerly known as the Prince of Wales Museum.
THE MANGO HUNTERS
'Naadan Maavukal' started out as a Facebook group, but what it does offline has helped conserve many indigenous varieties of mangoes
BJP LEADERS, TOO, HAVE HAD ENOUGH
Farmers’ protest has taken the centre stage in Haryana, which goes to the polls on May 25. Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is confident that the Congress, which has been out of power for 10 years, will regain its hold on the state. “People who voted for the BJP are disappointed today. It is clear that they want change,” he told THE WEEK.
