Congress gives new name to AAP chief Arvind ‘Sorry’ Kejriwal, says Delhi CM’s apology trail has just begun

The Congress party has given a new name to the Aam Aadmi Party president and asked him to rename his name to Arvind ‘Sorry’ Kejriwal, after the Delhi Chief Minister’s apology to BJP leader and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and Congress leader Kapil Sibal for making allegations of corruption against them.

Reacting to Kejriwal’s apology, both Gadkari and Sibal withdrew their defamation cases against the AAP leader on Monday.

Reacting strongly on this apology trail, the Congress said that this is what happens when ‘one does politics for sensationalism’.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, in a press briefing, said, “There is a sorry Chief Minister in the country. He should change his name to Arvind Sorry Kejriwal. This is just the beginning of his trail of saying sorry, and not the end. He also has to apologise to the people of Delhi and the country, whom he has deceived.”

Surjewala also asked Kejriwal to apologise to the people of Delhi for the poor governance in the capital.

He said, “He also has to apologise for poor governance. When you do politics only for sensationalism, and not for balance, then this going to be the consequence. The propaganda which was spread by him and his associates in collusion with BJP-RSS at Ram Leela Maidan during UPA rule, the truth of it has come out. Delhi is sorry to have Kejriwal and his government.”

The apology by Kejriwal came after he regretted alleging the Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Majhithia of drug trade, without any strong evidence. Kejriwal apologised to Gadkari in a letter dated March 16, where he wrote he was feeling sorry for making ‘certain statements, without regard to its variability, which seem to have hurt you.’

Kejriwal wrote, “I have nothing personal against you. I regret the same. Let us put the incident behind us and bring the court proceedings to a closure.”

He suggested to the Union Minister that “we should put our energy to serve the people of this country in the spirit of mutual respect.”

Gadkari had filed a defamation suit against Kejriwal in 2014 after he named him a list of ‘corrupt corruptions’.

After the apology, both Gadkari and Kejriwal filed a joint application in the Patiala House Court in Delhi, seeking the withdrawal of the defamation case. The application read, “Kejriwal has acknowledged that (the) complainant (Gadkari) was hurt on account of unverified allegations and expressed regret, in the larger public interest" and that "the complainant does not wish to pursue the defamation case.”

Also Read: Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia acquitted in defamation cases

Kejriwal, along with Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, had written to Congress’ Kapil Sibal also, seeking apology for making ‘unfounded’ allegations against him and his son Amit at a joint press conference on May 15, 2013.

Kejriwal and Sisodia wrote in their separate but identical letters, “Now, I have learnt that the allegation I made against you and your father at the press conference were unfounded. I hereby withdraw all my allegations made against you and your father and apologize for the same. The damage caused to your esteem, the hurt caused to your family, friends and well-wishers and the loss caused to you is regretted.”

After accepting the apology, the Sibals, along with Kejriwal and Sisodia, admitted a joint application seeking their withdrawal of the defamation case against the AAP leaders. The court also disposed of a case filed by Amit Sibal after Kejriwal alleged a conflict of interest over his appearing in the Supreme Court for Telecom company Vodafone, at the time of Kapil Sibal’s term as the union Communication Minister.

Kejriwal’s apology to Akali Dal leader Majithia last week triggered a virtual fight among the AAP Punjab unit, leading to the resignation of Bhagwan Mann as its Punjab unit chief.