February 14, 2015 will be a historic day as exactly a year after tendering his resignation, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal will take oath as Chief Minister of Delhi at Ramlila Maidan. The Chief Minister-designate has invited Union Cabinet Ministers, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the oath-taking ceremony and preparations for the swearing-in ceremony are already in full swing. Meanwhile, Wednesday was a busy day for Kejriwal as he held five high-profile meetings with President Pranab Mukherjee, Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung and Chief Secretary of Delhi DM Spolia.
Hitting the ground running, Kejriwal along with his right-hand man and MlA Manish Sisodia first met Venkaiah Naidu at 9.30 am at his office and discussed major issues including granting of full statehood to the National Capital, acquisition of land from the Delhi Development Authority for building schools, colleges, parking lots and playgrounds and regularization of unauthorized colonies.
On his part, Naidu emphasized the need for a pro-active role by the Delhi Government in mobilising investments for housing, including slum re-development, solid waste management and sanitation. Naidu also said that prompt action needs to be taken to allot over 24,000 houses that were constructed under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.
later, Kejriwal met Home Minister Rajnath Singh at 3.30 pm where he again raised the issue of full statehood for Delhi and also spoke about enhanced security for the State. “We asked them to support full statehood for Delhi. Both AAP and BJP are in a majority and it is the best time to avail the opportunity of granting full statehood to Delhi,” Sisodia said later.
Soon after, Kejriwal met Delhi’s lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung and conveyed to him that he had been elected leader of the AAP legislature Party. He also met Chief Secretary of Delhi DM Spolia on Wednesday. The meeting was initially supposed to be a courtesy call, but it turned out to be one where agendas were discussed. Sources revealed that Kejriwal even asked Spolia to have different departments prepare PowerPoint presentations based on the AAP’s manifesto by February 19 so that work can begin as soon as possible.
The last meeting of the day for Kejriwal was with President Pranab Mukherjee at 6.30 pm, where the President gifted him two books, Constitution of India and Thoughts and Reflections. In a reminder of the days when he was sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Delhi the first time round, Kejriwal refused to take the Z-plus security that was provided to him. According to senior leader Ashutosh, the Z-plus security disconnects the leader from the people and thus he rejected it. However, later on Kejriwal agreed to enhanced security which however will be unobtrusive. Kejriwal had been moving with basic security through his election campaigns this time. On the reasons for that, senior leader Yogendra Yadav told The Pioneer, “Arvind has a genuine threat which is why he needs security.”
Meanwhile, as the date of the swearing-in ceremony draws near, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NMC) and Public Works Department (PWD) are busy preparing VIP enclosures and organizing the seating arrangements. AAP workers are also busy preparing roadmaps for conducting roadshows of all MlAs and the Chief Minister-designate before they arrive for the ceremony. According to AAP sources, unlike last time, Kejriwal will not take the Delhi Metro to go for the swearing-in ceremony. “Instead, he and the newly-elected 66 MlAs will have roadshows in their constituencies before heading for the ceremony,” sources said.
Even as AAP makes these arrangements, NMC and PWD have begun pruning trees, whitewashing and leveling the ground to have the historic Ramlila Maidan ready for the big day. “Seating arrangements have been made by the Delhi Government which has marked space for “nearly 40,000 seats, which would include VVIP enclosures. We are also making arrangements for standing space for about 20,000 people,” said an NMC official.
Over 60 people have been deputed to sweep the Maidan for February 14 and water will be sprinkled at night to settle the dust. “The walls and the canopy had received fresh paint jobs for the Prime Minister’s rally, so that is taken care of. The PWD will also start decorating the dais and the venue with potted flowers. The ceremony is supposed to be in the open, so no cover has been put up yet,” added the official. Over a lakh people attended the swearing-in ceremony on December 29.
The corporation has also asked for 15 mobile toilets with 14 seats each, separately for women and men on the day. Two mobile medical units will be stationed at the Maidan to handle any medical emergency. Two water tankers would also be stationed at the venue of the historic ceremony.