In a jolt to the beleaguered Aam Aadmi Party, Delhi Social Welfare Minister Raaj Kumar Anand on Wednesday resigned, saying he was unable to stand corruption that has engulfed the party.
He said he has resigned from the party and the Arvind Kejriwal cabinet.
Addressing a press conference, Anand said he does not want to be part of any corrupt practices, further adding that it was no longer possible for him and became difficult to carry on as a minister.
“As a Delhi government minister, I have seven departments. Today I am very sad, and therefore have come forward to share my sorrow,” he said.
While speaking to reporters, the politician said, “I am stepping down as minister. This government has no morality left to continue in power.”
He said the sole reason for joining the AAP was the promise made by the AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal that politics will change which will help bring better changes in the country.
On a sad note, he further said, politics did not change, but the leaders did, expressing displeasure over the present situation and charges of corruption on the party.
He further alleged that the party’s leadership was drifting away from the teachings of Baba Saheb Ambedkar, and also claimed that the party had no place for Dalits, and claimed that the community felt cheated, which made it further difficult for him to remain in the party.
Anand said that on becoming the minister, his only intention and vision was to pay back to the society, and now did not want to be a part of the party where representation from the Dalits is not given due importance.
“The AAP was born out of the anti-corruption movement, but today it finds itself in deep-rooted corruption,” he said.
There are 13 party MPs in the Rajya Sabha, but not one woman or a Dalit leader, he added.
Meanwhile, back in November last year, the businessman-turned-politician reportedly faced searches conducted by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) in the alleged liquor policy scam case.
He was elected to the Delhi assembly in 2020 from the Patel Nagar assembly constituency.