Vinai Kumar Saxena took oath as the 22nd Lt Governor of Delhi at a ceremony here on Thursday and said he would work as the city's "local guardian" and will be seen more on the roads and less at Raj Niwas.
Mr Saxena (64), was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Acting Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court Vipin Sanghi at Raj Niwas.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Cabinet colleagues, Union minister Giriraj Singh and Meenakshi Lekhi, Delhi MPs and MLAs, and top bureaucrats of the city government attended the ceremony.
"I want to tell each citizen of Delhi that I will work in the capacity of a local guardian rather than as LG. You will see me less in Raj Niwas and more on the roads," Saxena said addressing mediapersons after taking oath of office.
Citing water, air and noise pollution as "inherent" problems of Delhi, the new LG said it would be solved by working together with the Government of India, the Delhi government and local people.
Mr Saxena also said it was his dream that Delhi becomes the "city of joy" as well as the "city of flowers", saying we will all work together in this direction.
Mr Kejriwal said his government would work together with the new L-G as it had done with his predecessor Anil Baijal.
"I assure to extend him full cooperation of the government. We will do a lot of good work together with Saxena Saheb as we did with Anil Baijal ji," the chief minister told reporters.
Mr Saxena, who was the chairperson of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), was appointed the Lt Governor of Delhi on May 23. His predecessor Anil Baijal resigned as LG on May 18 citing "personal reasons".
Mr Saxena also thanked the President of India, prime minister and the home minister for being entrusted with the responsibility of the post of L-G.
He said during his tenure, efforts will be made to empower the workers of the unorganised sector in Delhi through training and by providing them equipments.
The new LG also appealed to the people for maintaining communal harmony, citing recent riots and disturbances in the city.
The oath ceremony scheduled to begin at 11 AM was delayed by around 40 minutes. Chandni Chowk MP and former Union minister left the ceremony, expressing unhappiness over seating arrangement for the dignitaries.
The MP said in a tweet that he was asked by an officer to vacate the seat, stating that it was reserved. After waiting for 15 minutes, he left the venue when no seat was given to him.
Mr Saxena is a Kanpur University alumnus with a pilot license.
In March 2021, he was appointed by the Union government as a member of the national committee to commemorate 75 years of India's independence.
In November 2020, he was nominated as a member of the Padma Awards selection panel for 2021. PTI VIT VIT TDS TDS
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