A little while after reports came out of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Alka Lamba saying that she will tender her resignation on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s demand, Lamba has put out a statement saying, “I am not resigning.”
Tweeting her appreciation for AAP not passing the resolution to withdraw Rajiv Gandhi’s Bharat Ratna, Alka Lamba said:
“I am very happy to share that the party (AAP) has been in favour of Sri Rajiv Gandhi retaining the Bharat Ratna that was given to him by this country. The incomparable sacrifices that Sri Rajiv Gandhi made for this country can never be forgotten. I am removing the copy of the proposal, that was never even passed in the Vidhan Sabha.”Alka Lamba
She further tweeted a tribute to Rajiv Gandhi, listing all the developments made in the country by him such as the Panchayati Raj system, reservation for women etc.
According to ANI, Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had also dismissed reports of her resignation, saying, “No resignation has been sought and from no one, all these are rumours.”
According to PTI, Alka Lamba had said on Friday, 21 December that she will tender her resignation as "demanded" by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over she not supporting a resolution in the assembly on revoking late PM Rajiv Gandhi's Bharat Ratna.
The Delhi Assembly on Friday adopted a resolution on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in which it was demanded that the Bharat Ratna awarded to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi be withdrawn, but the AAP swiftly distanced itself from the reference to the Congress leader.
The matter became a major crisis with AAP MLA Alka Lamba alleging she was "put under pressure" to support the resolution, which she resisted and boycotted.
Lamba said she was ready to face “any consequences” and claimed she spoke to AAP supremo and CM Kejriwal who, she said, asked her to resign as MLA. “I am ready to do so”, she said.
The Chandni Chowk MLA said she was not happy with the demand to take back Bharat Ratna from Gandhi and staged a walkout in protest.
Interestingly, the AAP later distanced itself from the resolution.
"After I staged a walkout, I got a message from the chief minister to tender my resignation," she told PTI.
When asked whether she will quit, Lamba added, "I have won on a party ticket. I will tender my resignation as demanded by the party," the former Youth Congress leader said.
In a tweet, she said, "I was asked to support the resolution demanding taking back the Bharat Ratna awarded to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Since I didn't agree to this, I staged a walk out. I am ready to accept whatever punishment given to me."
(With PTI, ANI inputs.)
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