Arvind Kejriwal swearing-in highlights: ‘Want to work with Centre for smooth governance of Delhi’

"I had sent an invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for this event. He could not come, maybe he is busy at some other event. But through this platform, I want to take his blessings and say that I want to work with the central govt to develop Delhi and take it forward," Arvind Kejriwal said.

On claims that the Delhi government is providing several services free of cost, Arvind Kejriwal said, "I cannot charge the students of Delhi for studies. I can't charge patients visiting Delhi hospitals. The world will soon hail India. I want to work with the Centre to make Delhi number one city." 

"I forgive all those who spoke ill of me during the election campaign. Delhiites have given birth to a new kind of politics in the country -- which involves schools, hospitals, electricity, water, good roads and women security," the AAP chief said.

"Some people had voted for AAP, BJP and Congress during the polls. But from now on, I am everyone's chief minister -- irrespective of their political affiliations. In the last five years, I have worked for everyone. I have never worked with bias. Today, the entire two-crore population is a part of my family. Never hesitate to approach me, I will work for everyone. We still have a lot to achieve here. I want to work with everyone together," Arvind Kejriwal told the crowd.

Soon after taking oath as the chief minister, Kejriwal said, "Today, your son has been sworn in as the chief minister for the third time. This is not mine, but your victory. This is the victory of every family in Delhi. In the last five years, we have tried to bring relief and happiness to every family here. We have always focused on development at a rapid pace. We shall continue to do this in the coming five years as well." 

Besides Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Gopal Rai, Kailash Gahlot and Imran Hussain were also sworn in as ministers in the cabinet.

AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal was sworn in Delhi Chief Minister today.

Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal has also arrived at the Ramlila grounds.

Arvind Kejriwal has arrived at Ramlila Maidan for the swearing-in ceremony.

"Huge crowd gathered at Ram Leela Maidan to witness yet another historic event. Everyone is here to bless "Delhi Ka Beta" Arvind Kejriwal," the party tweeted.

Union Environmental Minister Prakash Javadekar on Friday denied calling Arvind Kejriwal a “terrorist”. Speaking to reporters at a press conference in Pune, Javadekar claimed he had never made this kind of statement, reported news agency PTI. Javadekar was asked about his statement ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections, where he had said Kejriwal called himself an anarchist and “there is not much difference between an anarchist and a terrorist”. He further added, “there is plenty of proof that Arvind Kejriwal is a terrorist“.

Delhi elections provided the ‘Vietnam moment’ for India. A significant victory — and vindication of equality and secularism — came when Delhi’s electorate gave a thumping vote. The tukde tukde gangs had won! May the tukde tukde gangs grow stronger until they achieve their Constitutional goals, writes former Union minister P Chidambaram. 

The crucial moment of the Delhi results came when Arvind Kejriwal led the crowd in calling out ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’, ‘Inquilab Zindabad’ and ‘Vande Mataram’. He made it clear that Hinduism is not the personal property of the BJP. He ran an astute campaign which did not allow the BJP to distract voters from the solid achievements of the Aam Aadmi Party in delivering public services. He did not fight PM Narendra Modi on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, and treated it as irrelevant for Delhi polls. This is the new articulate resistance to the BJP’s drive for a Hindu nation. The many demonstrations across India against the CAA are draping themselves in the National Flag. Hindus and Muslims are asserting their common nationality by reciting the Preamble to the Constitution, writes columnist Meghnad Desai.

As Aam Aadmi Party supporters celebrated the party’s victory in the Delhi Assembly elections , a toddler dressed as “baby Kejriwal” stole the show. And now, he has been invited to the swearing-in ceremony today. Several pictures of the “adorable” toddler sporting a moustache, spectacles and a muffler outside AAP’s ITO headquarters in Delhi had gone viral after they were shared by many including the AAP’s Twitter handle. Captioned “big announcement” the official handle of the party tweeted, “Baby Mufflerman is invited to the swearing-in ceremony of @ArvindKejriwal on 16th Feb. Suit up Junior!”

On Saturday, Kejriwal called a dinner meeting of his ministers-designate to discuss the roadmap for Delhi's development, especially the initiatives that need to be prioritised in the coming three months, according to party functionaries.

Taking to Twitter, Arvind Kejriwal today said, "Today, I will take oath as the chief minister for the third time. Do come to Ramlila Maidan and bless your son." 

An Aam Aadmi Party fan Uday Veer arrives at Ramlila Maidan for Arvind Kejriwal's swearing-in ceremony.

As many as 77%, or over three-fourths of the 3,335 voters interviewed by The Indian Express reported that their household has been getting decreased electricity bills during the last few months; 66% or two-thirds reported getting reduced water bills; 37% said their household has benefited from the waiving of water bill arrears; 50% said that a woman in their household had benefited from the free bus rides scheme; and 51% reported that either they or a member of their household had availed of free medicines, tests and surgeries at Delhi government hospitals. The survey also found that the impact of these schemes is not just limited to economically worse off sections, but has touched a significant proportion of middle- and upper-class households too.

Indian elections are increasingly becoming about the choice of a leader. Was this true of the recently concluded Delhi polls? The fact that the BJP did not have a Chief Ministerial face, as against the clear projection of Arvind Kejriwal, appeared to make an important difference. How critical was the leadership factor in explaining AAP’s victory? The Lokniti-CSDS data provides important insights on this crucial question. When respondents in Delhi were asked an open-ended question on who they would like as the Chief Minister of Delhi after the elections, Kejriwal appeared to face no competition whatsoever. A majority of respondents took his name, with his closest opponent (Manoj Tiwari of the BJP) being supported by a mere 6% of respondents.

Newly elected BJP MLA Vijender Gupta wrote a letter to L-G Anil Baijal Saturday, requesting him to withdraw a circular that has made it “compulsory” for government school teachers to attend Sunday's event. Gupta, leader of Opposition in the previous Assembly, said the circular is “dictatorial” and has shattered his belief that Kejriwal’s focus after coming back to power would be on governance and strengthening democratic ethos. Slamming Gupta’s objection, the vice-chairman of Delhi Dialogue and Development Commission, Jasmine Shah, said teachers and principals were “architects” of Delhi’s transformation in the past five years and they “deserved to be invited” for the swearing-in ceremony. “When did BJP last think of teachers at the centre of your ‘vikas’ (development) model? Never did, never will,” Shah tweeted.

"There is nothing wrong if Arvind Kejriwal thinks that the same cabinet should be repeated. People are happy with the work of the cabinet and we won the elections on the basis of our work. We will continue to build and maintain the confidence of the people," Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia told news agency ANI.

Arvind Kejriwal has also invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the seven Delhi MPs (all from BJP) and the eight BJP MLAs to attend his swearing-in ceremony at Ramlila Maidan Sunday. The Prime Minister, however, is not expected to attend as he is scheduled to be in his constituency, Varanasi, on Sunday. Other than Kejriwal, the six ministers who were part of the previous cabinet — MLAs Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain, Gopal Rai, Imran Hussain, Rajendra Pal Gautam and Kailash Gahlot — will also be sworn in on Sunday. Delhi, as per rules, can have only a seven-member cabinet.

Addressing reporters on Saturday, Deputy CM Manish Sisodia said, “It is a great victory for the people of Delhi, who made the Kejriwal model of governance and development triumphant. It is the victory of those who dream to make Delhi a world-class city and work tirelessly for it. These fifty people — Dilli ke Nirmata — will be seated with the Chief Minister on a special stage. Collaborating with them, the government will pursue development work and schemes in Delhi effectively in the next five years. We had a good five years; the next five years will be even better.”

Taking oath as Chief Minister of Delhi for the third time on Sunday, Arvind Kejriwal and his Cabinet will share the stage with 50 special guests from different fields, who have contributed to the capital. Called ‘Dilli ke Nirmata’, those on the guest list include traders, teachers, principals, labourers, advocates, engineers, doctors, sportspersons, students, bus drivers and conductors, auto drivers, Metro pilots, farmers, anganwadi workers, sanitation workers and social workers.

Additional Commissioner of Police (Central) Mandeep Singh Randhawa said they have also deployed the traffic policemen. “We have made multi-level security arrangements and will monitor all routes leading to the venue through CCTV. Snipers are positioned at buildings to ensure security,” he added. Drones are also likely to be used.

Around 2,000 personnel of Delhi Police and 25 companies of paramilitary forces have been deployed for the swearing-in ceremony of Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal — for a third consecutive term — at Ramlila Maidan on Sunday. The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 10 am and traffic regulations will be in place in the area from 8 am to 2 pm. Follow our blog for all the latest updates.