Exactly a year ago, on February 14, 2014, the 49-day minority government led by Arvind Kejriwal quit following the failure to introduce its pet Jan Lokpal Bill in the Delhi Assembly and blaming “match-fixing” by the BJP and Congress to stall the anti-graft legislation.
On February 14, 2015, Kejriwal took oath as ‘AAP Ka CM' once again at Delhi’s Ramlila Grounds. This time, he has won with a thumping majority, which was evident in the sea of supporters that had gathered for his oath-taking ceremony.
Last time, too, a sea of supporters had landed up to see Kejriwal take oath as Delhi’s youngest Chief Minister, after he trounced three-time Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit in the elections. Their hopes were high, but were dashed in 49 days. This year, the crowds were larger and so are their hopes and aspirations.
Terming his mandate as ‘nature’s miracle’ Kejriwal said: "We did not know people of Delhi love us so much -- 67 out of 70 seats! People of all religion and all castes have voted for us - Hindus, Muslims, Christians and Sikhs. The poor voted for us. The rich voted for us too.”
Mentioning the recent attacks on Churches in Delhi, he said: “People of Delhi will not tolerate this…. With Delhi Police's help, we will make sure that people of all religions feel secure.”
Incidentally, Delhi Police is under the Centre’s jurisdiction, which is one reason why AAP is demanding full statehood for Delhi.
As in his earlier speech, Kejriwal said he would strive to make Delhi corruption-free in five years and appealed to his MLAs not to be arrogant in their public dealings.
Also, last time, Kejriwal made it a point to praise his key rival and senior BJP leader Harsh Vardhan, saying: “I don’t know about his party, but I respect Harsh Vardhanji.”
This year, Kejriwal mentioned his key Chief Ministerial rival and former Team Anna member, Kiran Bedi of BJP, and Congress leader Ajay Maken.
“I respect Kiran Bedi, she is like my elder sister. She has good experience in administration, I need her advice. We will also consult Ajay Maken who has experience in administration. I will involve everyone to make Delhi an ideal State,” he added.
Kejriwal ended his speech with the same Hindi film song of unity that he sang last time.
Later, Kejriwal and his Cabinet members visited the Delhi Secretariat but the first meeting was put off as the new Delhi Chief Minister was advised rest following running fever since the past few days.