Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took oath as the member of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) on Friday, after Union Home Ministry cleared the CM’s membership to the civic body. Employees gathered there, with many standing in queues, to get a glimpse of the ‘Aam Aadmi’ chief minister as Kejriwal and AAP MLA from Delhi Cantonment, Surinder Singh, were administered the oath by NDMC chairperson Jalaj Srivastava. “I have been waiting for several hours to meet the CM. This was not the case when other chief ministers came here. I am here because of curiosity,” an employee said. After the oath-taking, Kejriwal was briefed about NDMC jurisdiction, hierarchy, departments and their operations. Congress leader and MP Ajay Maken, also a member, remained absent. Just before the introductory session, Kejriwal was also given some advice for his cough. “Is khansi ka kuch karo, itni zyada hai aapko (Do something about your cough, it is quite severe),” Congress leader Tajdar Babar said. The CM spoke about corruption and the needs of employees. “I hope that NDMC will cooperate in abolishing corruption and look into the needs of the employees,” he said. Kejriwal will preside over the next council meeting scheduled on February 7. Will create space for street vendors: Kejriwal Hours before he took oath as a member of NDMC, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal came down heavily on MCD officials and Delhi Police, alleging that corruption was rampant among its ranks. Addressing a gathering of the National Association of Street Vendors of India at Jantar Mantar on Friday afternoon, Kejriwal said, “To ensure traffic does not get affected, we’ll create spaces for street-vendors in an organised manner. Until these vending zones are set up, no street-vendors will be displaced. ” ens
