Everyone’s CM: Kejriwal
Says bitter poll campaign a thing of the past as the AAP leader takes oath
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”.
Kejriwal also stressed he wanted to work in coordination with the Centre and sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s blessings for smooth governance in the national capital.
“I had sent an invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji for this event. He could not come, may be he is busy at some other event. But through this platform, I want to take blessings from the PM and the central government to develop Delhi and take it forward,” he said at the ground, which was the centre of the India Against Corruption movement in 2011. “The next years will witness better cooperation with the Centre,” he added.
Modi was in Varanasi on Sunday to inaugurate projects in his Lok Sabha constituency.
Later in the day, the PM congratulated Kejriwal on Twitter. “I congratulate Shri @ArvindKejriwal on taking oath as Delhi’s CM earlier today. Best wishes to him for a fruitful tenure,” Modi said.
Responding to the tweet, the Delhi CM said: “Thank you for the warm wishes sir. I wish you could come today, but I understand you were busy. We must now work together towards making Delhi a city of pride for all Indians.”
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.