Everyone’s CM: Kejriwal

Says bitter poll campaign a thing of the past, will serve people irrespective of politics

› It does not matter which party you have voted for… I will work for everyone, be it from any party, any religion, caste or strata of society

› Some accuse me of distributing freebies. They forget that the most precious things on Earth are inherently free in nature

ARVIND KEJRIWAL, Delhi CM

NEW DELHI: Arvind Kejriwal said he will work for everyone regardless of their political leanings, religion or caste, and that he was willing to put the bitter election campaign behind him to work closely with the Union government, as he took oath as Delhi’s chief minister for the third time at the Ramlila Maidan on Sunday.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief, who pulled off an impressive assembly election win against the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) challenge in the Capital, was sworn into office by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal as thousands gathered at the central Delhi venue. Kejriwal, 51, took oath along with cabinet ministers Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain, Gopal Rai, Kailash Gahlot, Imran Hussain and Rajendra Pal Gautam.

“It does not matter which party you have voted for. I am a CM for those who voted for the AAP, I am a CM for those who voted for the BJP and those who voted for the Congress… I have never discriminated anyone on the basis of the party’s they vote for. I have worked for everyone. I have done development work in colonies that are BJP strongholds... All 2 crore residents of Delhi are one family for me and I am everyone’s chief minister… Elections are over but I will be there for you, like a family. Feel free to come to me for any help...

I will work for everyone, be it from any party, any religion, caste or strata of society,” Kejriwal said in his speech that lasted about 20 minutes after the swearing-in ceremony.

For the second time in a row, Delhi voted overwhelmingly for the AAP in the February 8 election, giving it 62 seats in the 70-member assembly. In 2015, the AAP won 67 seats. The party’s victory came on the back of a campaign that leveraged the leadership of Kejriwal, who first emerged as a key member of the India Against Corruption movement and later joined politics in 2012.

In its campaign, the AAP focussed on education and health, with the provision of electricity and water at low rates, and free quotas for the two utilities. Political rivals had criticised the AAP government over the subsidies, saying it was providing the facilities merely for political gains.

On Sunday, the national convener of AAP responded to the criticism: “Some accuse me of distributing freebies. They forget that the most precious things on earth are inherently free in nature. Things such as a mother’s love for the child and Shravan Kumar’s [a mythical character in the Ramayana] devotion and service towards his parents are priceless. Such is my love for Delhi. Kejriwal loves people of Delhi and the people love him back equally. This love is priceless.” He added that such services are “priceless” and should not be seen as “freebies”.

“This is not my win; this is the victory of every Delhiite, of every family. In the last five years, our only effort has been to bring happiness and relief to every Delhiite,” the CM said, describing himself as “Delhi’s son”.

Referring to the bitter political campaign ahead of the assembly elections, Kejriwal said at Ramlila Maidan that he “forgives” the Opposition. “I want to work taking everybody along. The election campaign witnessed a lot of political frictions and heated exchange of words. We forgive the political parties in opposition. We urge them to forget the acrimony. I want to work together with all parties to make Delhi a world class city.”

AAP’S Delhi government and the Bjp-led national coalition have been fighting pitched battles over sharing of power soon after Kejriwal returned as chief minister for the second time in 2015.

AAP had won 67 of 70 seats in Delhi assembly, reducing the BJP to only three. Kejriwal alleges that the Bjp-led Centre has since been exacting revenge, withdrawing its powers and blocking key decisions taken by the AAP government.

The BJP, which mounted an aggressive campaign primarily centred around the issue of the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in the latest election, faced its second consecutive assembly loss — and a huge setback only nine months after it swept all of Delhi’s seven parliamentary constituencies.

The AAP chief began his address at the Ramlila Maidan with ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ and ‘Inquilab Zindabad’, and ended it by singing ‘Hum Honge Kamyaab’, a translation of the song “We Shall Overcome” by Hindi poet Girija Kumar Mathur, in which the crowd joined him. He said this is not his victory, but of every single Delhiite.

In his previous swearing-in ceremony – which, too, was organised at the Ramila Maidan – in 2015, Kejriwal had sung “Insaan ka Insaan Se ho Bhaichaara”, a song from a Hindi movie.

Six MLAS, including Sisodia, Jain and Gahlot, also took oath as ministers in the newly sworn Delhi cabinet. Rai, who was the labour minister in the previous government, took oath in the name of martyrs of freedom struggle. Gautam, who held the social welfare portfolio in his last tenure, took oath in the name of Buddha. While the leaders were on the stage, their families sat in front of them at the Ramlila Maidan.

While praising the people of Delhi for changing the nature of the country’s politics, Kejriwal said India’s name will resonate in the world due to this new wave. He said his re-election was a “victory of a new form of politics that is based on development and welfare”.

“Delhi’s ‘nirmatas’ (makers) are sitting here... Lakhs of ‘nirmatas’ run Delhi...politicians come and go but Delhi’s ‘nirmata’ run Delhi,” he said.

As he took oath, Kejriwal shared the stage with 50 people under the banner ‘Delhi ke nirmata’ (architects of Delhi). Geeta Devi (36) and Arun Kumar (22), both home guards working with the Delhi government, were among them. While Devi helped arrest a pickpocket, Kumar rescued a four-year-old girl from an abduction attempt.

The invitees were from different walks of life — doctors, teachers, sanitation workers, bus conductors, drivers, marshals deployed for women’s security, farmers, anganwadi workers, athletes, students, engineers, mobile ambulance operators and relatives of fire and police officials who lost their lives on the line of duty.

Of the eight MLAS from the Opposition, only Vijender Gupta, who won the Rohini seat, was present at the swearing-in ceremony. Gupta, who was the leader of the opposition in the previous Delhi assembly, said: “The oath-taking ceremony, which cost the exchequer ~2 crore, was nothing less than a political event of the AAP. I was the only person from the opposition in the entire country who came to attend the ceremony out of moral responsibility. But, neither did I get seat to sit, nor a parking space for my car. I had to take a lift from Delhi Police to reach my car.”

The event was also attended by all AAP candidates, including those who lost the elections, star campaigners such as Punjab MP Bhagwant Mann, music composer Vishal Dadlani and Kejriwal’s family members.