In a republic, power should reside with those who are elected by people: Kejriwal

In a republic, the power should reside with those who have been elected by the people and that is the reason the AAP and people of Delhi want full statehood, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Thursday.

"The biggest example is that I am often blamed that why all the work is being done in the last one year. That is because all our files used to go to the LG and it used to get stuck due to political reasons. When we got power, we were able to build mohalla clinics, install CCTV cameras," he told reporters.

"In a republic, the power should reside with the people who have been voted to power. This (not having statehood status) is neither good for the country nor for the national capital," he said.

Statehood was the main poll plank of AAP in Lok Sabha elections last year.

Kejriwal recently said that the issue of full statehood for Delhi would continue to be part of the party's manifesto for the upcoming polls in Delhi.

Delhi Assembly polls will be held on February 8 and the counting of votes will take place on February 11.