Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) Chief Arvind Kejriwal met the Union Home Minister Amit Shah today afternoon after taking oath as Delhi’s CM for the third time on Sunday.
Kejriwal said after the meeting that it was “a good meeting held in a cordial atmosphere”.
In a tweet Kejriwal said , “Met Hon’ble Home Minister Sh Amit Shah ji. Had a very good and fruitful meeting. Discussed several issues related to Delhi. Both of us agreed that we will work together for development of Delhi.”
Met Hon’ble Home Minister Sh Amit Shah ji. Had a very good and fruitful meeting. Discussed several issues related to Delhi. Both of us agreed that we will work together for development of Delhi
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 19, 2020
This was his first meeting with the former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president after an emphatic win in the Delhi assembly elections, taking 62 of 70 assembly seats, leaving little margin for the Opposition BJP, managing just 8 seats.
Kejriwal was sworn-in at a public ceremony at the Ramlila Maidan in Delhi. The swearing-in ceremony of Delhi Chief Minister on Sunday was a completely different affair as no Opposition leaders were invited.
For the oath-taking ceremony, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also invited but he was not able to attend as was visiting his Lok Sabha constituency, Varanasi for the inauguration of various projects.
Meanwhile, displaying political propriety, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal exchanged good-natured remarks on Sunday.
While the PM Modi congratulated the Chief Minister for taking oath, the AAP leader said they must work together to make the national capital a ‘pride city’.
“I congratulate Arvind Kejriwal on taking oath as Delhi’s CM earlier today. Best wishes to him for a fruitful tenure,” Modi said. Responding to the PM’s tweet, Kejriwal said he wished Modi could have attended the oath ceremony.
“Thank you for the warm wishes sir. I wish you could come today, but I understand you were busy. We must now work together towards making Delhi a city of pride for all Indians,” Kejriwal replied.
In his address after the swearing-in ceremony, Kejriwal had said: “I want to work with the central government to make Delhi a world-class city. I had also invited the PM for the oath ceremony, but I guess he could not make it because he is busy. I want the PM to bless us so that we can work for the development and progress of Delhi.”
Given the unique status of Delhi, the Centre plays a big role. During the previous term, Kejriwal had accused the Centre of creating hurdles in his work. However, this time he hopes for a fruitful term.
Kejriwal also asked for cooperation from his opponents- the BJP and Congress party saying he has “forgiven” them for the remarks made against him during the poll campaign.
The Delhi election was marked by bitter, fractious and polarising campaigning, trading of allegations and counter-allegations between the parties, brazen “hate” speeches, and divisive politics. It even witnessed violence and firing at anti-CAA-NRC protest sites at Jamia and Shaheen Bagh.
The Election Commission was at times forced to take some action as it gave leaders like Union Minister Anurag Thakur, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and BJP MP Parvesh Verma a slap on the wrist over their “hate” remarks.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on February 13, accepting the defeat in Delhi Assembly elections while speaking at an event. He said that the statements like ‘Desh ke gaddaron ko’ and ‘India-Pakistan match’ should not have been made’.
“I accept our defeat in the Delhi elections. Statements like Desh ke gaddaron ko should not have been made. The party might have suffered because of such statements,” Shah said.
“Though the party had distanced itself from such remarks, it may have suffered in the elections because of hate statements made by party leaders,” he was reported as saying by news agency PTI.