Atishi new Delhi CM: ‘Sole aim is to make Kejriwal CM again’
Atishi accused the BJP of hatching conspiracy and keeping Kejriwal in jail for six months in the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.
5 min read
Atishi is likely to meet Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena later in the day to stake a claim to form the new government. (Express Photo)IN KEEPING with his announcement over the weekend, Arvind Kejriwal resigned as Delhi Chief Minister on Tuesday, picking senior AAP leader Atishi to take his place until the Assembly elections due in February next year.
While Atishi, 43, staked claim to form the government, she made it clear that “Delhi has only one CM and his name is Arvind Kejriwal”. “Our sole objective will be to make him CM again,” she said, as she asked people not to garland her or celebrate the occasion, expressing “extreme sadness” over Kejriwal’s resignation.
Atishi was among the Delhi ministers who accompanied Kejriwal to Raj Niwas in the evening, when he went to hand in his resignation to Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena.
Kejriwal’s resignation letter, as well as Atishi’s letter staking claim to form the government, will be forwarded to President Droupadi Murmu for her acceptance. The L-G will then invite Atishi to form the government and give a date for the oath-taking ceremony, which is likely to take place in three-four days, said a government official.
Following the swearing-in, the new CM will prove majority at a special session of the Delhi Assembly, which is set to be convened on September 26-27, said officials.
“The decision regarding the names for the (new) Cabinet will be taken after the formation of the government,” AAP’s Delhi Convenor and Environment Minister Gopal Rai said.
In a surprise move on Sunday, two days after being released on bail in the Delhi excise policy case, Kejriwal had announced that he would resign “after two days”, and would not return to the CM’s chair until he gets the people’s mandate as a “certificate of (his) honesty”. While he had called for early elections, alongside Maharashtra which is expected to go to polls in November, he had said the party MLAs would decide on a new CM.
At the AAP’s legislature party meeting at his residence on Tuesday, Kejriwal proposed Atishi’s name, which was unanimously supported by the MLAs. While he posted “best wishes to Atishi”on X later, Kejriwal maintained a studied silence through the day.
Addressing the media outside the CM’s residence at Civil Lines, Atishi said: “First of all, I want to thank Delhi’s beloved CM and my guru, Arvind Kejriwal, for giving me such a big responsibility. I come from a humble family… I don’t think I would have even got a ticket if I were in any other party but Kejriwal ji has shown so much faith in me. I will fulfil my responsibilities.”
Atishi will be Delhi’s third woman CM, after Sushma Swaraj and Sheila Dikshit. “On behalf of all the AAP MLAs and the 2 crore people of Delhi, I want to say that Delhi has only one CM and his name is Arvind Kejriwal,” she said. “Our sole objective will be to make him CM again.”
Accusing the BJP of hatching a conspiracy and keeping Kejriwal in jail for six months in the excise policy case, she said the Supreme Court had not only granted him bail but also called the CBI a “caged parrot”.
“What Arvind Kejriwal did after coming out of jail… has not been done by any leader in the world. He said he would sit on the CM’s seat only after the people of Delhi certify his honesty,” said Atishi.
“Today, the people of Delhi are very upset and angry at the BJP’s conspiracy. People want an honest leader like Kejriwal as their CM, because they know that if he is not the CM, then all schemes like free electricity, water, travel for women, and ‘tirth yatra’ programme will stop,” she said.
Why she is AAP choice
With 13 departments under her as minister, including key portfolios such as finance, PWD, education, law and revenue, Atishi was an obvious choice for the Chief Minister’s post. Ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections due in February, she has her task cut out.
“As long as I am carrying out this responsibility, I will have only one aim. I know that the BJP will conspire against the people of Delhi through its L-G Sahab. I know that it will try to stop the Delhi government’s works and welfare schemes, but for the next few months, as long as I have this responsibility, I will try to protect the people of Delhi and run the Delhi government under the guidance of Arvind Kejriwal,” she said.
Atishi, who is the Kalkaji MLA, holds 13 portfolios including the public works department, education, finance, law and tourism.
The AAP government can appoint seven Cabinet ministers. Currently, there are five ministers — Kailash Gahlot, Gopal Rai, Imran Hussain, Saurabh Bharadwaj and Atishi. One seat fell vacant when Raaj Kumar Anand resigned as minister in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year.
Ahead of the elections next year, Atishi is set to push the AAP government’s key schemes, including the implementation of the Mukhya Mantri Mahila Samman Rashi Yojana announced earlier, under which eligible women beneficiaries were promised Rs 1,000 per month, said sources.
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