CM Kejriwal takes oath

NEW DELHI: Setting his government's roadmap for the next five years after being sworn in as chief minister of New Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "blessings" for fast paced development of the national capital and asserted that people may have voted for different parties, but he is the "chief of minister of all".
Kejriwal along with his cabinet colleagues Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain, Gopal Rai, Imran Hussain, Rajendra Pal Gautam and Kailash Gahlot were administered the oath of office and secrecy by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal at the historic Ramlila Maidan that was a sea of tricolour with a large number of people and party supporters turning up for the event.
Striking a conciliatory political tone, the 51-year-old bureaucrat-turned-politician sought cooperation from his rivals BJP and Congress in making Delhi the "number one city", saying he has "forgiven" them for the remarks against him during the high-octane poll campaign.
"We have forgiven our opposition for whatever remarks they made on us. I would also like to request the opposition parties to forget what happened during the elections. I want to work together with all the parties for the development of Delhi. I want to work together with the central government to make Delhi a world-class city," the chief minister said.
"I had also invited the prime minister for the oath ceremony today, but I guess he could not make it because he was busy. I want the prime minister to bless us so that we can work for the development and progress of Delhi, Kejriwal, whose previous tenure was marred by several run-ins with the Centre, said in his nearly 20-minute address.
The prime minister, who was in his constituency Varanasi where he inaugurated several projects, later greeted Kejriwal on Twitter.
"I congratulate Shri @ArvindKejriwal on taking oath as Delhi's CM earlier today. Best wishes to him for a fruitful tenure," Modi tweeted.
The AAP scripted a phenomenal victory by sweeping 62 out of the 70 seats in the Delhi assembly polls after a campaign where Kejriwal desisted from directly attacking Modi and stuck to his development plank.
Kejriwal termed himself Delhi's "son" and the "chief of minister of all" people irrespective of the party they voted for.
During his speech, he credited the people of Delhi for giving birth to a new kind of "politics of work and performance", listed the various initiatives and defended the 'freebies' extended by his government, saying it would be a shame if he charged people for basic amenities like education and health.
"In the last five years, we have tried to develop Delhi on a fast mode and in the next five years, we will continue the same," he said.
The AAP supremo began his address with 'Bharat Mata ki Jai', 'Inquilab Zindabad' and 'Vande Mataram' and ended it by singing 'Hum Honge Kamyaab', in which he was joined by the crowd at the venue.