New Delhi, Apr 2: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday accepted the apology tendered to him by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and other leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Kejriwal, along with his senior AAP colleagues Sanjay Singh, Ashutosh and Raghav Chadha wrote a joint apology letter to Jaitley, expressing regret over the charges levelled against him.

Shortly after receiving the letter, sources close to Jaitley confirmed to media personnel that he has agreed to withdraw the civil and criminal defamation suits filed against Kejriwal, Singh, Ashutosh and Chadda.

Copy of the letter written to Jaitley:

Jaitley had pressed defamation charges against Kejriwal in December 2015, after the latter accused him of amassing wealth through illicit means during his tenure as the head of Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA).

The fresh apology from Kejriwal comes in the backdrop of a spree of letters written by the AAP chief to his political rivals repenting over the serious charges he levelled against them.

Among leaders whom Kejriwal has apologised to include BJP veteran and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal and former Punjab Minister Bikram Singh Majithia.

Kejriwal's apologies, apart from drawing ridicule from his political opponents, also made him the target of dissidents within the party.

AAP's Rajasthan in-charge Kumar Vishwas accused Kejriwal of "diminishing the remaining hopes" of people in the AAP through his recent acts.

"Hum kya us shaks par thookein jo khud thook kar chatney mein mahir hai," Vishwas had tweeted a stinging pun to attack the AAP supremo.

Kejriwal's apology to Majithia, analysts claim, is a big setback for the AAP in Punjab as jailing the Akali Dal strongman was among the party's core poll plank in the 2017 state assembly polls.

At least 11 of the 20 AAP MLAs in Punjab had marked their dissent against his decision. The party's Punjab unit president Bhagwant Mann submitted his resignation from all party positions to protest the move.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 02, 2018 01:32 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).