Arvind Kejriwal takes oath as Delhi chief minister
Along with Kejriwal, six cabinet ministers in the Delhi government also took oath
New Delhi: Exactly a year after resigning from the chief ministerial post, Arvind Kejriwal along with six cabinet ministers from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) took oath on Saturday in a crowded Ramlila Maidan in the national capital.
“The AAP government is everyone’s government. If you voted or didn’t, I am your CM.” People of Delhi have given us the support and love and we have decided for the next five years to serve the people of Delhi, Kejriwal said.
The AAP government won 67 seats from the 70 constituencies, to form a majority government in the national capital. In the 2013 elections, AAP had won 29 seats and had formed a government in coalition with Congress. The former AAP government under chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had resigned on 14 February 2014, after a 49 day stint in the government.
Addressing the crowd at Ramlila Maidan, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said, “Exactly a year after we resigned, we have come to power again with full majority. People from every religion, caste, rich and poor, everyone voted for us.”
Along with Kejriwal, six cabinet ministers in the Delhi government also took oath. They include Manish Sisodia, who will also be the capital’s first deputy chief minister. Others who took oath on Saturday are Satyendar Jain, Jitender Tomar, Gopal Rai, Sandeep Kumar and Asim Ahmed Khan. Interestingly, no women have been included in the cabinet.
Referring to the promises made by AAP in their election manifesto of making Delhi corruption free and passing the Janlokpal Bill, Kejriwal said, “Is the Lokpal Bill enough to remove corruption? In 49 days we managed to remove corruption. We today have the confidence that we will remove corruption from Delhi in five years and make it the first corruption Free State in the country.” He said the government will re-start the telephone link through which people can send recordings of people asking for bribes.
Not giving a definite timeline, Kejirwal said that the Janlokpal Bill will be passed as soon as possible.
Promising a platform for business in the city, Kejriwal said, “We want that your business grows but you on your behalf pay your full tax. I will not let your money to be stolen. We will use for roads, schools, women security etc. In 49 days I learnt that there is no shortage of money in the government, it is the intension that falls short.”
The developmental agenda of the AAP has been criticized for being populist in nature. Political analysts feel that the development agenda of the AAP , is not populist in nature but taking address of the implementation issues that we have in the system. “There is a confusion, the state government of Delhi has a different type of agenda. Popular expectation is that the state should deliver on basic civic amenities,” said Manisha Priyam, a New Delhi based political analyst.
She adds that while people say that the agenda may be populist, people of Delhi want efficient implementation of what they have. The supply side needs implementation.
AAP that has a strong volunteer base that was also an integral part of the election process, Kejriwal in his address while he thanked them for their relentless support, he warned the party members against arrogance. He said, “When you get such a success, arrogance grows. All of us, me, ministers, MLA’s and our families need to be very aware. We need to look into ourselves again and again to ensure we don’t get arrogant. I’ve been seeing on TV that people have been saying that we will run for various other elections. Congress, BJP both lost because of arrogance. We also got the same result, when we decided to run for general elections and we all saw the result that had.”
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First Published:14 Feb 2015, 12:14 PM IST
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