Delhi BJP unit chief Manoj Tiwari and the opposition leader in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta on Thursday sought the resignation of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on moral grounds following the arrest of his close relative Vinay Kumar Bansal in connection with PWD scam.

Tiwari alleged Chief Minister Kejriwal’s “patronage” to his relative Vinay Bansal, who was arrested on Thursday by the anti-graft agency ACB, while demanding his resignation.

Bansal is a partner in a firm linked to alleged financial irregularities in building a drainage system for Public Works Department in north-west Delhi. “It is amply clear with the arrest of Bansal in the PWD’s bogus payments scam that he had Chief Minister’s patronage in his misdeeds,” Tiwari said in a statement.

He has said that Kejriwal has lost all “moral right” to rule. Likewise, Vijender Gupta remarked that the PWD scam could not have taken place without the knowledge and connivance of the Chief Minister.

Gupta alleged that Kejriwal was guilty of protecting his relative’s company which caused extensive damage to drains and roads with an aim to obtain orders to repair them. In many cases though no repair was made, payments were made on the basis of forged work completion certificates.

“It is tragic that Kejriwal, who once walked on high moral ground hand-in-hand with Annaji, has now stooped so low . Since Kejriwal came to power on the plank of zero tolerance for corruption, he is morally bound to resign,” Gupta asserted.

He further alleged that Kejriwal had compromised with corruption and joined hands with corrupt people. Gupta said Kejriwal was guilty of overlooking money laundering carried out by PWD Minister Satyendra Jain.

Kejriwal defended his daughter’s unlawful appointment in Health Ministry, Gupta said. He also accused the CM of shielding unauthorized appointment of one of his own relatives, Nikunj Aggarwal.

Kejriwal also went out of the way to protect the former Law Minister Jitender Singh Tomar in forged degree case, the BJP leader said. AAP, meanwhile, hit out at the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) for arresting Bansal, say- ing the action was aimed at maligning the Chief Minister’s image and harassing his kin.