NEW DELHI:In his second avatar as Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, the only chief minister without a portfolio among India’s 22-odd CMs was sworn in amidst a spectacle song and dance. Even his six member cabinet was announced by the deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, giving the signal that Kejriwal is above power politics and arrogance as the mentor instead of the mukhya mantri. In a direct message to Delhi, Kejriwal asserted that he will serve Delhi for next five years and asked party men to stay away from making comments on contesting elections in other states.
The chief minister without a protfolio, however, will supervise all portfolios and monitor the functioning of all ministries and ensure direct connect to public. This would make him the only CM who acts as a monitoring superpower. It is to be noted that four out of six ministers were dropped from his earlier cabinet on grounds of “poor performance.”
Wearing his usual blue sweater and grey trousers, Kejriwal’s coronation was attended by thousands of people from across the country. The AAP chief popularly known as the ‘muffler-man’ gave the item a miss since it was a bright and sunny day that reflected the mood. Six of his cabinet ministers along deputy CM Manish Sisodia were also administered oath by Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung. Kejriwal’s family members sat in the front row in the common enclosure rather than VIP enclosure. The Ramlila Maidan, the birth place of India Against Corruption movement which later became AAP, was packed with supporters donning the trademark cap. Glamour was represented by Bollywood actors Gul Panag and Javed Jafri. A group of Kejriwal’s IIT batch mates were also present. The atmosphere was festive, with people singing, dancing and shouting slogans in support of AAP and Kejriwal as patriotic songs played in the background. Some held placards reading ‘I am AK67’ and ‘kewal AAP, baki saaf’ depicting the party’s massive 67 seats win in Delhi. Some supporters held posters ‘We Love You Kejriwal’ and ‘My Valentine’.
The security arrangements and were tight. AAP volunteers were helping in crowd management. People started reaching the venue starting from 9 am and many volunteers reached by Delhi Metro. All roads leading to Ramlila Grounds were blocked for vehicular traffic and people in large numbers walked to attend the ceremony.
Unlike last time when his 49-day government was often in confrontation with the Centre, Kejriwal reached out to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to work together for the betterment of Delhi. He even invited Kiran Bedi and Ajay Maken to help in improving governance in the national capital.
Interestingly, in his over 30-minute speech, Kejriwal touched upon topics like statehood to Delhi and Jan Lokpal. The 46-year-old activist-turned-politician assured that he would make Delhi a corruption free city and also raised concerns about recent attacks on churches in Delhi.
“Before the elections, they (BJP) had promised statehood to the people of Delhi. It’s not possible for the Centre to take care of important issues related with governance of the state, so I hope the Centre will fulfil their promise,” Kejriwal said amidst cheers by crowd.
The chief minister cautioned his party against arrogance saying they got drubbing in 2014 Lok Sabha election— the very reason, the BJP and the Congress were defeated in the Delhi Assembly elections.
Perhaps to indicate that he would not deviate from the agenda, he invoked a sense of 2013 deja vu by staring his address with “Bharat Mata ki Jai”, and ending his speech with AAP’s anthem ‘Insaan ka ho Insaan se Bhaichara’.
The New Cabinet
■ Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will not hold any portfolio but oversee the work of ministers
■ Deputy CM Manish Sisodia
Finance & Planning, Services, Education, Higher Education, Information Technology Technical Education, Administrative Reforms, Urban Development, Revenue, Land and Building & Vigilance and all other departments not specifically allocated to any Minister.
■ Gopal Rai
Employment, Development, Labour, Transport and General Administration
■ Satyendar Jain
Health, Industries, Gurudwara, Irrigation and Flood Control, Public Works Department and Power.
■ Jitender Singh Tomar
Law & Justice, Tourism, Art and Culture and Home
■ Asim Ahmed Khan
Food and Supply, Environment and Forest, Election
■ Sandeep Kumar
Women and Child, Social Welfare, Language, SC&ST