Keeping with his electoral promise to redress grievances of the poor and downtrodden, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met people at the Aam Aadmi Party office in Kaushambi on Thursday. Chief Minister accorded preference to the physically challenged on the second day of his janta durbar that lasted more than an hour.
Ghaziabad district administration had made elaborate arrangements to facilitate Delhi Chief Minister’s open house where people from all walks of life were invited to submit their applications and narrate their grievances.
A three-tier security ring was thrown around the CM during the public interaction, which was attended by more than 500 people, including well-wishers who came with sweets and garlands.
“CM wanted to meet the disabled first, so they were given preference, irrespective of their time of arrival,” Ghaziabad City Magistrate Kapil Singh, who was supervising the event, said.
Complainants started trooping in as early as 8 am
for the session that started at
10 am. later, groups of 10 people, five men and five women were allowed to meet the CM in batches.
Around 11.30 am, Kejriwal came out and appealed to the gathering to submit grievances to the officials.
“I am leaving from here, as I have to attend a very important meeting. But do not go from here, until your concerns are submitted to the officers here, because you have voted me to solve your problems,” he said.
Amit Chhabaria, a senior official from the CM office, said, “We are collecting the complaint letters, which would be sent to respective authorities to take action accordingly.”
But few people were disappointed with the arrangement. “We came here to put our grievances before Kejriwal only, but it is very
sad that he left without
hearing our complaint,” said Manoj Kushwaha, who came from Dwarka.
Meanwhile, party volunteers clarified that Kejriwal would be holding meetings between 10 am to
11 am every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Visually impaired 45-year-old Prem Kumar, who managed to meet the Chief Minister, said, “Kejriwal expressed his inability to give me employment, but he promised to look into my accommodation needs.”
Malviya Nagar MlA Somnath Bharti also
met Kejriwal along with Brahmakumari sisters. He, however, expressed reservation over the expression janta durbar.
“Janta durbar’s concept was coined during monarchical regimes when Rajah used to meet Praja. Kejriwal doesn’t consider himself a Rajah, rather he is Praja,” he said.
Street hawkers and vendors were there in large numbers to narrate their woes before Kejriwal. They all said that officials of Delhi Nagar Nigam and Delhi Police extort money from them. Some women on the temporary rolls of Delhi Government also met Kejriwal.