AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal addressing the crowd after taking oath as Delhi Chief Minister on Saturday.
When Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal took oath as Delhi Chief Minister at Ramlila Maidan on Saturday, the crowd was hanging on to every word he said in his first speech. The popular chief minister wasted no time in striking a populist note saying, "Do you like it when a minister blocks a road... and the car's siren beeps? We want to end VIP culture."
Just in front of the stage where Mr Kejriwal took oath of office, was an enclosure for invitees. It had no 'VIP' boards on it, simply 'reserved' written on the chairs where these dignitaries sat. And this time around, in the new avatar of AAP government in Delhi, Mr Kejriwal has made the same promise of ending VIP culture as he did the last time, yet, with some important caveats.
"Now some will say don't take cars with red beacons. But if those cars help us to get our work done, then should we not take them. Some in the media will talk about me taking a new bungalow... but we need some space where we can meet people," he said.
Delhi's AAP government has clearly taken some lessons from its short 49-day stint last year. Moving away from the 'no lal batti' and 'no bungalow' stance, the Aam Aadmi Party seems to have taken a more practical view in its second avatar in government denying that the reserved seats at the swearing in had anything to do with the party itself.
AAP Spokesperson Raghav Chadha told NDTV, "It's the LG's function. He invites dignitaries, MPs, Ministers etc. So the reserved space. Our MLAs are sitting in the crowd. I didn't even get an entry till someone gave me an invite. I waited outside the gate for 45 minutes."
Amidst all the colour and excitement at Ramlila Maidan where mini celebrations, mini- Kejriwals, even, were all cheering loudly for Arvind Kejriwal, AAP's Delhi government will be closely watched especially on its promise of ending Delhi's notorious VIP culture.