BY APURVA RAI
FROM aam admi to Delhi CM. The 49-day journey of Arvind Kejriwal has not been without hiccups. Once he decided to enter into the political fray Arvind Kejriwal left no stone unturned during his campaigning. He received huge support not only from dedicated workers of AAP but also the people of Delhi who craved for a change of guards in Delhi. Kejriwal used his party symbol, broom (jhadoo), in a way that gave him political mileage above others.
Kejriwal himself contested
against sitting Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit from New Delhi
constituency. It was nothing less than a miracle that Kejriwal defeated Sheila
by a margin of over 22 thousand votes. Not to be forgotten is the fact that
Sheila has been ruling over Delhi for 15 years and Kejriwal fought first ever
election of his lifetime.
The crowning of Arvind
Kejriwal too was an eventful affair that will always be remembered in history.
He decided to take oath as chief minister of Delhi at a public function at
Ramlila Maidan. Not only this, he used public transport, Delhi Metro, to reach
the venue of the oath taking ceremony. In fact, it was part of Kejriwal's
resolve to end VIP culture in Delhi and this was first step in this direction.
Soon after taking over as the Chief Minister Kejriwal takes step to check corruption and launches a helpline number. He asks people to carry out sting operation to nab the corrupt.
During its tenure the AAP government halved electricity tariff for households using less than 400 units a month. Besides, 700 litres of free water was given for houses with a water meter.
The AAP government also saw various controversies starting from Shoaib Iqbal of JD-U who threatened to withdraw support. Also creating troubles for Kejriwal was Vinod Kumar Binny who expressed his anguish for not being given a ministerial berth in Kejriwal cabinet. Binny was ultimately expelled from the party.
There were more troubles
in store for Kejriwal government. A controversy broke out over law Minister
Somnath Bharti's midnight raid in Delhi's Khirki Extension to bust alleged
prostitution and drug ring. This led to high voltage tussle between AAP
government and the Delhi Police. The chief minister stood by his Law Minister
and defended night vigils by ministers.
CM Kejriwal asks
for suspension of erring police officers in Somnath Bharti tussle issue. He
also demanded bringing Delhi Police under the control of Delhi government. To
press for his demand CM Kejriwal sat on a dharna at Rail Bhavan bringing the
entire national capital to a halt. The Chief Minister worked from dharna stage
and slept on the roadside on cold wintry night to press for his demand.
Kejriwal was also in
news for his official residence. He was allotted a five bedroom house on
Bhagwan Dass Road which he refused to occupy after a contoversy erupted over
it. Later he was allotted a smaller three bedroom house at Tilak Lane.
Arvind Kejriwal sparked
another controversy when he said that ruling UPA government had given special
favours to Mukesh Ambani over gas pricing. He said that gas prices were
determined in a way to give highest profit margins to Mukesh Ambani. He also
ordered FIR against Oil Minister Veerappa Moily, Mukesh Ambani and Murli Deora.
The AAP government led
by Arvind Kejriwal submits resignation after the much-talked about Jan Lokpal
bill could not be introduced in Delhi assembly. The House saw high voltage
drama for several hours over the bill which ultimately could not be presented.
Following this the chief minister decided late in the evening that he will will
submit his resignation over the issue.
With the declaration of
his resignation the 49-day old journey of a minority government led by Arvind
Kejriwal came to an end. Though Kejriwal exudes confidence he will return to
power with absolute majority his rivals are saying that he is trying to woo the
aam admi with lots of lies and false promises.
(Text and pictures by APURVA RAI)
Published in saharasamay.com on Feb 15, 2014. The link of the pho feature is given below:
http://www.saharasamay.com/regional-news/national-capital-region-news/676547999/arvind-kejriwal-49-day-journey-profile-aam-admi-cm-aap-govt.html?id=14623
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