New Delhi, Feb 16
The swearing-in ceremony of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday was a completely different affair as none of the Opposition leaders were invited.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), who formed the government in Delhi for the third time, focussed on the common man rather than VIPs as it invited people who contribute in the development of the national capital instead of political leaders, especially from the Opposition.
Doctors, teachers, bike ambulance riders, cleaners, construction workers, bus marshals, auto drivers etc. were invited and given a place on the dais.
This has triggered a speculation that Kejriwal is either willing to go alone or is looking forward to work in coordination with Prime Minister Narendra Modi so that the disputes with the Centre can be settled. Kejriwal, in his speech, also said that he had invited Prime Minister Modi to the ceremony but since his schedule was already fixed so he couldn't attend the function.
In 2018 when the Congress supported Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) in Karnataka and agreed on the name of H.D. Kumaraswamy for the Chief Minister in order to keep the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) out of the power in the state, the parties who were opposing the BJP were invited to the swearing in ceremony of Kumaraswamy to show unity of the Opposition. Kejriwal was also shared the stage with other leaders.
It was expected that after a triumphant victory in the Delhi Assembly elections, the AAP will also invite the Opposition parties but this didn't happened. It happened in 2014 also.
Kejriwal has always avoided giving a place to the Opposition leaders on his stage but has shared the stage in their respective states. In 2015 also, when Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Janata Dal-United (JDU) and the Congress formed an alliance to form the government in Bihar, Kejriwal shared the stage and even met Lalu Prasad, allegedly involved in various corruption cases and has since then also been convicted and sentenced to jail in some fodder scam cases.
Also, on various issues, Kejriwal's stand was different from that of the Opposition. For example, when Article 370 was abrogated from Jammu & Kashmir, he supported the Modi government. Similarly, when the Congress raised questions on the government over the formation of Ram Mandir Trust, Kejriwal said that there is no time frame for good work.
He has also been silent over the attacks of the BJP. For example, he didn't react to the BJP's attack on those who were opposing Citizenship Amendment Bill and Shaheen Bagh issue.
Interestingly, many Opposition leaders, including West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik wished him on the victory of his party in the Delhi polls. The Jharkhand and Kerala CMs were present in Delhi on Sunday but Kejriwal didn't invite anyone to his oath-taking ceremony.
