NEW DELHI: AAP senior leader and Delhi Chief Minister-designate Atishi, along with her five Cabinet Ministers, will be administered oath by L-G V K Saxena at Raj Niwas on Saturday.
According to sources, the oath ceremony is expected to be a “low-key affair” given the circumstances of outgoing chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s resignation. The schedule will be announced once the approval from President Droupadi Murmu is received.
The party has announced the induction of Mukesh Ahlawat, MLA from Sultanpur Majra, as a new face in the Delhi Cabinet. At the same time, it has announced the retention of four ministers, namely Gopal Rai, Kailash Gehlot, Saurabh Bharadwaj, and Imran Hussain.
The Delhi cabinet can have a maximum of seven ministers, including the Chief Minister, but the AAP has so far named six. As Atishi will have to prove a majority in the Delhi Assembly, the ruling AAP has called a session on September 26-27.
On Friday, the AAP alleged that the BJP would try to increase the power tariff in Delhi through the L-G.
Addressing a press conference, Atishi alleged that the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government’s electricity model was the “costliest with long outages”.
“What we see in Uttar Pradesh, we might have to see in Delhi if you do not choose Kejriwal. This is important as only he can give free electricity 24x7. I will protect the people of Delhi during the next four months as the BJP might try to increase power tariffs in the national capital,” she said at a press conference.
Atishi also claimed the UP government had increased electricity connection rates by 250 per cent.
Sharing the data of electricity bill rates for more than 400 units in Delhi and BJP-ruled states across the country, Atishi stated that the bill for 400 units of electricity in Delhi is Rs 980. In Gujarat, Ahmedabad, the bill for 400 units comes to Rs 2,044. In Gurugram, Haryana, the bill for 400 units comes to Rs 2,300. In UP, it comes to Rs 2,900, in Madhya Pradesh, it comes to Rs 3,800, and in Maharashtra, it comes to Rs 4,460.
“In many states where the BJP is in power, the bill for 400 units of electricity is four times more than in Delhi. That means long power cuts and the most expensive electricity is the BJP model,” said the Delhi government minister.
‘Loot by Kejriwal’
Hitting back, Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said when they come to power in February, they will investigate the “joint loot of the Kejriwal government and private power discoms under the guise of electricity surcharges and will ensure a refund as possible.
“The BJP will extend the benefit of the 200-unit electricity subsidy to the middle class and work on reducing electricity bills for commercial establishments,” he added.