New Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal’s swearing in as chief minister of Delhi this Saturday will be a grand affair and everyone in the city is invited, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said today.
“We want to invite the prime minister, all union ministers and Delhi MPs,” senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia said. The party, which has decimated the ruling BJP in the Delhi election, reached out to the government today and in meetings, discussed plans for the capital.
Mr Kejriwal will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 10.30 am tomorrow. He asked for an appointment soon after the results, and is expected to invite PM Modi to the swearing in ceremony at Ramlila Maidan, the venue of the 2011 anti-corruption campaign that brought Mr Kejriwal to the national spotlight.
The Prime Minister, however, has a packed schedule this weekend. He is flying out to Maharashtra on Saturday morning.
“We will also invite all union ministers and all Delhi MPs,” said Manish Sisodia, a senior AAP leader.
“Our biggest invitation is to the people. Every citizen is becoming chief minister,” he added. The Ram Lila maidan, located in the heart of Delhi, can accommodate 50,000 people at a time. The event is likely to be a logistical challenge for the police and administration.
Since yesterday, Mr Kejriwal, who calls himself the people’s chief minister, has been heard on the radio urging everyone to join him for the oath ceremony.
Kiran Bedi, who ran for chief minister against Mr Kejriwal but lost even in her own constituency, will receive an invite to the ceremony.
Anna Hazare, who brought Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi and several activists together for his hugely popular anti-corruption campaign in 2011, will also be invited.
The 77-year-old activist did not attend Mr Kejriwal’s previous oath ceremony in 2013 and is unlikely to come for this one.
“What will I do by attending the swearing-in? I have already congratulated him,” he was quoted as saying in news reports.
