Changing the face of the chief minister will not change the character of the AAP, the BJP said on Tuesday, insisting that the Arvind Kejriwal-led party is still answerable for 10 years of corruption under its rule in Delhi.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's reaction came after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said it will stake a claim to form a new government under senior party leader Atishi following Kejriwal's resignation from the post in the evening.
"'Chehara badalane se AAP ka charitra nahi badalega' (changing the face does not change AAP's character)... Considering Kejriwal's 10 years of corruption, whoever is the CM will have to tell people how they looted the people of Delhi," Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said.
"They have indulged in corruption in every department and now the people will give them an answer for that corruption," he added.
Hitting out at Kejriwal, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonwalla said, "Earlier we had a chief minister operating from jail who then became a chief minister on bail. Now it is being said that a proxy chief minister, a lame duck, is being brought at the helm".
The AAP leaders have said that the Delhi chief minister's chair belongs to Arvind Kejriwal and it will remain so, he alleged.
"This means the face will change, not the characterFrom de-jure chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal will become a de-facto chief minister," Poonwalla said.
He claimed that the AAP's character will not change with Atishi replacing Kejriwal as Delhi's chief minister.
"It's because there is corruption in every department coming under Atishi. There is education scam, water scam, DJB (Delhi Jal Board) scam, 'Sheesh Mahal' scam and various other scams," the BJP leader alleged.
"Atishi was the (AAP's) in-charge in Goa where money made through liquor scam was used" in the state assembly elections, he claimed.
Atishi, who is a minister in Delhi government holds several portfolios, including education, Delhi Jal Board, Public Works Department and Finance.
Kejriwal, who was released from jail on bail on Friday, announced on Sunday that he would resign from the post and would only return at the helm if people give him a certificate of honesty.
He also demanded that assembly polls be held in November. The Delhi Assembly's term ends on February 23 and the polls are expected to be held some time in early February.