Had an impromptu janta darbar for the aam aadmi at Kaushambi’s Girnar Apartments
The first Sunday of Arvind Kejriwal as Delhi’s Chief Minister brought some relief from his hectic political schedule. While Kejriwal preferred staying indoors for a better part of the day, his apartment premises in Kaushambi was bustling with activity as hundreds thronged the place to share a moment with the aam aadmi’s Chief Minister.
People from as far as Narela and Dwarka visited Girnar Apartments to have a glimpse of Kejriwal. Even as the new CM woke up at 8 am, crowds had already begun to gather outside his residence. By 10 am, the area was chock-a-block with nearly a thousand drivers and conductors of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and municipal workers. Flashing applications for making their jobs permanent, the DTC employees poured out their woes to Kejriwal. There were many who had come from his New Delhi constituency’s Valmiki Sadan where Kejriwal had held a mohalla sabha just a day before taking the oath as Delhi’s Chief Minister. “Kejriwal had promised us that he would put an end to contractual work system. We have come to remind him of his words,” informed Raghu Angral, who made space for himself along with hundreds of others on the colony street. Besieged by the massive gathering, Kejriwal came out to interact with the people. He heard them out and sought 10 days’ time to devise a mechanism for grievance redressal.
Meanwhile, his father who is also an engineer and a retired Government official, Govind Ram Kejriwal, along with his well wishers organised a hawan at a nearby temple. like son, Kejriwal senior too appeared to be a committed man who requested all to pray that his son is able to fulfil promises made during the election campaign. When asked if anything has changed after Kejriwal became the CM, he said, “No. He loves us a lot and is a very good person. Whenever he goes outside, he touches my feet for blessings. Even after being the CM, he still is doing the same thing.” Kejriwal lives with his wife, two school-going children and parents.