NEW DELHI: Vijay Kumar, a beneficiary of the Delhi government’s Jai Bhim Mukhyamantri Pratibha Vikas Yojana and Lajwanti, a safai karamchari (sanitation worker), would be among the 45 guests, picked from a diverse spectrum of the society, at the swearing-in of Chief Minister-designate Arvind Kejriwal and his cabinet on Sunday.
While Kumar won himself a coveted ticket to IIT-Delhi, drawing the benefits of free tuition under the state scheme, Lajwanti has been labouring away diligently over the last nine years.
These special guests to the swearing-in function, to be held at the sprawling Ramlila Maidan, have been labelled as ‘Delhi Ke Nirmaatas’ (makers of Delhi).
They include school teachers, students, Anganwadi workers, social activists, wives of slain service personnel and firefighters, PWD engineers, pharmacists, auto-rickshaw drivers, sanitation workers, farmers, bus conductors and drivers, marshals deployed on buses, athletes, beneficiaries of the state’s scholarship schemes, architects and agents of the government’s doorstep delivery service.
“This is a win for all residents who dream of a better Delhi. The chief minister has decided to invite people representing diverse sections of the society and different occupations. They will be our main guests,” Manish Sisodia, AAP MLA from Patparganj, said.
“This government has accorded me a lot of respect. I consider it an honour and privilege to represent the army of bus marshals. We strive every day to ensure security of women riding our public buses. This is government is serious about women’s safety,” said Arun Kumar, a DTC bus marshal who made headlines after saving a six-year-old girl from being kidnapped in the Dhaula Kuan area. He will take one of the chairs reserved for guests at the February 16 event.