NEW DELHI: Chief minister Rekha Gupta and her ministers, sworn in on Thursday at a public function at Ramlila Maidan that was attended by PM Modi, Union ministers and many chief ministers, hit the ground running. Soon after a visit to the secretariat, the cabinet were on the Yamuna banks before convening for a meeting in the evening.
The portfolios were announced at night. Among the key departments, Gupta will handle finance and revenue; Parvesh Verma PWD and water; Ashish Sood home, power, urban development and education; Manjinder Singh Sirsa industries and environment; Kapil Mishra law and justice; Dr Pankaj Kumar Singh health and transport; and Ravinder Indraj Singh social welfare.
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A hoarding of the CM and PM, positioned on opposite sides, served as the backdrop of the stage with ‘Viksit Dilli Ka Shapath Samaroh’ inscribed in the centre as lieutenant governor V K Saxena administered the oath to Gupta and her council of six ministers. She took the oath amid chants of “Jai Shri Ram” from a large crowd of party supporters.
Sood incorporated his parents’ names in the oath while Sirsa, a former Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) member, delivered his oath in Punjabi. The audience enthusiastically applauded Kapil Mishra, a Brahmin from Poorvanchal, when he took the oath.
The cabinet composition reflects a careful balance of regional and caste representation, including Pankaj Singh, who is a Thakur from Poorvanchal, Indraj, who is a representative of the Scheduled Castes, and the chief minister, who is a Bania.
Gupta, Sood, Singh and Indraj are first-time MLAs.
The choice of venue was politically significant as it had witnessed the Jan Lokpal protests by anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare which eventually gave birth to AAP. This was the place where Arvind Kejriwal and his cabinet had been sworn in on Feb 14, 2015. Kejriwal had promised to rid the city of corruption and warned his party against “ahankar” (arrogance).
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Gupta, who became the fourth woman — and ninth overall — CM of the capital, offered prayers at Marghat Wale Hanuman Temple at Kashmere Gate before reaching the venue. She was followed in the swearing-in ceremony by New Delhi MLA Parvesh Verma who too drew enthusiastic cheers from the audience with some shouting, “Parvesh ji ko Jai Shri Ram”. Newly-elected MLAs Ashish Sood (Janakpuri), Dr Pankaj Singh (Vikaspuri), Manjinder Singh Sirsa (Rajouri Garden), Ravinder Indraj (Bawana) and Kapil Mishra (Karwal Nagar) followed.
People had started gathering at the venue since early morning with many showing their support for Prime Minister Modi by wearing his masks and holding up his cutouts. Many were waving the Tricolour and party flags. A band performed patriotic and devotional melodies like “Ram Aayenge to angna sajaenge” and “Aai watan”.
Union home minister Amit Shah was among the first senior leaders to reach the venue, followed by BJP national president JP Nadda and Rajasthan chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma. The loudest cheers were, of course, for Modi when he entered the stage with ministers, NDA leaders and others on the stage standing up to greet him. The PM and CM exchanged greetings with Gupta wearing a broad smile. Several women who have worked with Gupta in the party’s women’s wing had turned up in large groups to show their support to the chief minister.
The event was also attended by defence minister Rajnath Singh, Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. The stage was a showcase of NDA unity with Bihar deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha, Rajasthan deputy CM Prem Chand Bairwa, Goa CM Pramod Sawant, Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu, Haryana CM Naib Singh Saini and Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Lal Yadav also present on the stage.
Spiritual leaders were also put centre stage at the event that concluded with the national anthem.
Rajya Sabha MP from the Aam Aadmi Party, Swati Maliwal, whose relationship with the party turned bitter in recent times, and Congress’s Delhi president Devender Yadav were the only representatives of the Opposition.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi conveyed his best wishes to Rekha Gupta on X. “Congratulations to Smt Rekha Gupta ji on taking oath as Delhi’s chief minister. She rose from the grassroots, being active in campus politics, state organisation, municipal administration, and now MLA as well as chief minister. I am confident she will work for Delhi’s development with full vigour. My best wishes to her for a fruitful tenure.”