Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) founder Arvind Kejriwal was in the city for a seven-day Vipassana workshop; the former Delhi CM stressed that he had no plans of quitting politics any time soon, and was focused on the upcoming Delhi assembly polls
“The day I quit politics I will devote my life to meditation.” This was the reaction of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) founder Arvind Kejriwal on Monday, after a seven-day Vipassana workshop he attended in the city during which he observed complete silence. The former Delhi chief minister did not forget to add that he had no plans of quitting politics any time soon, since he is all focused on the upcoming Delhi assembly polls.
Kejriwal, who has done as many as 23 Vipassana courses in the last 17 years, said, “See, Delhi polls are just two months away. Still I made a week’s time and completed this course. This shows how important meditation is in my life. The day I quit politics I will concentrate on Vipassana a hundred percent.”
Expectedly, our next question was if the politician had circled a date on the calendar as his last day in politics. To this, he quipped, “No, I have no such plans in the near future. Please don’t make such headlines. This time I am sure that Delhi voters will give AAP a clear mandate and we will not have to take any outside support.”
He had recently made a statement that resigning from the CM’s post was a big mistake. Clearing his position on the decision, he said, “I had resigned only because the Lokpal bill was not getting passed in the assembly. Our prediction was that fresh polls would be held along with Lok Sabha elections and we would win the election and form the government without taking support from Congress. But the speculation proved wrong; we had not expected that President’s Rule would be imposed for 10 months.”
Asked if he intended to visit anti-corruption activist and his one-time mentor Anna Hazare, whose village, Ralegan Siddhi, is near the city, Kejriwal said, “I am leaving now. I have a flight to catch soon.”
Kejriwal completed the meditation course organised by Vishwashakti International Foundation in Pune and was addressing the media on the subject. But he did not hesitate in answering political queries ranging from Anna to his short-lived government in Delhi that lasted 49 days.
