No, Kejriwal did not say he would resign in support of protesting wrestlers

Social media is rife with a claim that in support of the ongoing wrestler’s protest, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has stated that he will resign from his position, and if the Centre still doesn’t pay heed to the wrestlers’ demands, he will leave the country.

BJP leader Krishan Gahlot (@KrishanGahlot_) who has over 1 lakh followers on Twitter, recently posted an image of Kejriwal alongside the wrestlers with the caption in Hindi that can be translated as follows: “Breaking!!! Kejriwal will resign from the post of CM of Delhi in support of wrestlers. Even then if then the government does not agree, then he will even leave the country.” The post received over 1 million views and was retweeted over 3,500 times. (Archive)

Breaking ❗❗❗

पहलवानों के समर्थन में केजरीवाल देंगे दिल्ली के CM पद से इस्तीफा। फिर भी अगर सरकार नहीं मानी तो देश छोड़ कर भी जा सकते है।#BREAKING #AAP pic.twitter.com/2fNrdREK3e

— Krishan Gahlot (@KrishanGahlot_) May 30, 2023

A parody account called ‘AAP Rajasthan | Mission 2023 | Seats 150 – Parody’ (@18Kishann) shared the same image and caption. The tweet received over 3,000 retweets and 16,000 likes. (Archive)

Breaking ❗❗❗

पहलवानों के समर्थन में केजरीवाल देंगे दिल्ली के CM पद से इस्तीफा। फिर भी अगर सरकार नहीं मानी तो देश छोड़ कर भी जा सकते है।#BREAKING #AAP pic.twitter.com/5olxi4nxKa

— AAP Rajasthan | Mission 2023 | Seats 150 – Parody (@18Kishann) May 30, 2023

We noted that users commented on Gahlot’s tweet asking if this was true. They even tagged the Delhi chief minister and the Aam Aadmi Party. Others wanted to know if this was being shown on any news channel.

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The claim also went viral on Facebook.

Fact Check

We looked for reports in mainstream media on Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal expressing his intention to resign, but could not find any. There was no such statement by the social media handles of the Delhi chief minister and his office, either.

A reverse image search of the photo used in the viral tweets took us to an NDTV article dated April 29.The photo has been attributed to PTI and the caption says, “Arvind Kejriwal meets protesting wrestlers at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar.’

Kejriwal has tweeted in support of the wrestlers on several occasions. He retweeted a video where hundreds of people were pleading the wrestlers not to immerse their medals in the Ganges. Kejriwal wrote, “पूरा देश स्तब्ध है। पूरे देश की आँखों में आँसू हैं। अब तो प्रधान मंत्री जी को अपना अहंकार छोड़ देना चाहिये।” (Translation: The whole country is shocked. There are tears in the eyes of the citizens. Now the Prime Minister should leave his arrogance.)

पूरा देश स्तब्ध है। पूरे देश की आँखों में आँसू हैं। अब तो प्रधान मंत्री जी को अपना अहंकार छोड़ देना चाहिये। https://t.co/9kuPecNHL9

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) May 30, 2023

Kejriwal also condemned the manner in which the security personnel detained the wrestlers on May 28 and stated that “Such behaviour with our sportspersons who brought the honour to the country is very wrong and condemnable.”

देश का मान बढ़ाने वाले हमारे खिलाड़ियों के साथ ऐसा बर्ताव बेहद ग़लत एवं निंदनीय। https://t.co/hoKX2ewlli

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) May 28, 2023

We also noticed that in a video titled, “Why doesn’t Kejriwal offer to give up CM seat like Wrestlers & their medals?: BJP“, posted by Republic World, BJP’s Raman Malik stated that Kejriwal should resign and give up his power just like the wrestlers.

However, there is no official statement from the Delhi chief minister or from any AAP leader stating that Arvind Kejriwal will resign in support of the protesting wrestlers or if their demands are not met. The viral claim is false.

Abira Das is an intern at Alt News.