New Delhi: Atishi, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader, took charge as Delhi’s eighth chief minister and left a chair vacant next to her own as a mark of respect and honour for party convenor Arvind Kejriwal, saying it will remain in her office until the February 2025 polls when the AAP chief will once again become Delhi’s top elected official.
“I have taken the charge as Delhi CM… I am feeling the same way Bharat felt when Lord Ram went into a 14-year ‘vanvaas’…Bharat had to handle Ayodhya’s administration. He looked after the administration of Ayodhya…I will run the Delhi government the same way for the next four months as Bharat did by keeping Lord Ram’s ‘Khadaun’ on the throne,” Atishi said.
She added that Arvind Kejriwal had set an example of morality and dignity in the politics by renouncing the post. In the last two years, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lodged fake cases against him, arrested him and kept him in jail. They tarnished his image, the Delhi CM said.
The AAP leader pointed out that Kejriwal will not sit on the empty chair unless the people prove him to be honest. “He has quit but this chair belongs to Arvind Kejriwal.”
On Saturday, Atishi was sworn-in as chief minister after Kejriwal resigned from CM’s post on September 17. Atishi is the youngest leader to assume the role of CM and the third woman CM in Delhi’s history, after Sushma Swaraj and Sheila Dikshit.
On Sunday, during a Janta Ki Adalat, Kejriwal said he resigned because he was hurt by the corruption charges made against him. He pointed out that he will undergo an “agnipariksha” among the people of Delhi and hold the CM’s post only after public gives him support in the upcoming elections. Addressing the people, he said, “If you think I am honest, vote for me. If you think otherwise, then do not vote for me.”
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