In politics, calls for resignation are frequent. As soon as something happens, political opponents start demanding resignations - always citing morality, but seldom following through.
Perhaps it's because morality in politics is always the last resort, a fallback when there's no other way out. However, Arvind Kejriwal has become an exception to this notion - and the Chief Minister of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah, appears to be following his path.
Even after the Lokayukta police filed an FIR, Siddaramaiah's decision hasn't changed. He has made it clear that he will not resign – and Siddaramaiah's path seems similar to that of Arvind Kejriwal.
Just as the BJP demanded Arvind Kejriwal's resignation in Delhi, they are now demanding the resignation of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. But you might recall Union Minister Rajnath Singh's statement regarding resignations.
In 2015, when a controversy arose over helping fugitive businessman Lalit Modi, the Congress demanded the resignations of Sushma Swaraj and Vasundhara Raje. Sushma Swaraj was then the External Affairs Minister in the Central Government, and Vasundhara Raje was the Chief Minister of Rajasthan.
During that time, Rajnath Singh and Ravi Shankar Prasad appeared before the media to provide information on some Cabinet decisions, when they were questioned about the resignations of Sushma Swaraj and Vasundhara Raje.
Rajnath Singh's response was quite interesting, 'No, no... ministers don't resign over these issues, brother... this isn't a UPA government, it's an NDA government.'
The clever response surprised everyone. Given that the person who often talked about integrity and morality was making such statements, it left everyone astonished – and this trend continues today. In fact, Arvind Kejriwal has pushed this matter even further.
The Entire Country Now Knows There's No Law to Give Up the Chair
There was only a brief period. When the Enforcement Directorate officials arrested Hemant Soren and Arvind Kejriwal in different, albeit related, cases. Hemant Soren from Ranchi, and Arvind Kejriwal from the Chief Minister's residence in Delhi.
The major difference in both cases was that Hemant Soren resigned from the Chief Minister's post before his arrest, but Arvind Kejriwal remained the Chief Minister even during his time in Tihar Jail. Even when he got interim bail for campaigning in the Lok Sabha elections, he continued as the Chief Minister, and even went to surrender after the bail term ended - Arvind Kejriwal resigned from the Chief Minister's post only after getting bail in both ED and CBI cases.
Once again, Hemant Soren and Arvind Kejriwal took opposite decisions. Hemant Soren took the oath as Chief Minister immediately after his release, while Arvind Kejriwal resigned and handed over Delhi's reins to his trusted leader Atishi.
When Arvind Kejriwal was in jail, many questions were raised about his remaining as Chief Minister, but the Constitution was cited as having no such compulsion. Some events occurred when work was stalled due to the Chief Minister's lack of signature, but they either stopped or alternative routes were taken.
Several petitions were filed in courts regarding Arvind Kejriwal's resignation from the Chief Minister's post, but they were dismissed each time. During the Delhi liquor policy case hearing, the matter was raised, and the court's final remark was that the decision to resign depended solely on Arvind Kejriwal's will.
The rule existed earlier, but now everyone knows it - and it seems Siddaramaiah has decided to follow the same path.
Instead of Resignation, Leaders Choose Blame Game
Despite being shaken by the Karnataka High Court, Siddaramaiah seemed unfazed, and instead of talking about resignation, started blaming the BJP for everything. He said, wherever there are opposition party governments, the BJP tries to topple them... they've succeeded in many places, but not in Karnataka.
Siddaramaiah claimed that the people are firmly with them... all our party's elected representatives, workers, and leadership are with me.
Comparing to the Arvind Kejriwal case, Siddaramaiah was talking about the Congress leadership and workers along with the people of Karnataka. In Arvind Kejriwal's case, AAP conducted a survey in Delhi to ask if the government could be run from jail. And after the survey, it was claimed that the people of Delhi wanted Arvind Kejriwal to run the government from jail - and Kejriwal did manage to do that.
People Should Know by Now That Leaders Won't Leave Their Seats
Targeting his political adversaries, Siddaramaiah said, the BJP with its money power and Operation Lotus tried to topple the government but failed... I'm not afraid of BJP and JD(S)... because the people of Karnataka are with the Congress... and their attempts won't succeed... the people have given a mandate of 136 MLAs.
When the Kolkata rape-murder case emerged, Mamata Banerjee too was under immense pressure. The BJP, from streets to the House, was demanding her resignation – but how could she be expected to resign when she even rejected the Kolkata Police Commissioner's offer to resign.
Morality in politics has become as irrelevant as the adage goes about love and war – and Siddaramaiah is about to become the new traveler on this path.
