New Delhi: On Monday, senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Atishi took over as Delhi Chief Minister, citing Lord Ram and Bharat as analogies and expressing ‘personal sorrow’ at the transfer.
Addressing a press conference, she pointed to the empty chair and stated that it will remain vacant until former Chief Minister Kejriwal returned to power.
The symbolism is inspired by the Hindu epic Ramayana, in which Bharat refuses to sit on Lord Ram’s throne to display his deep devotion and affection.
“I have the same pain as Ramayana’s Bharat had. Just as Bharat ruled by keeping Lord Ram’s wooden sandals, I will take charge as the Chief Minister with an empty chair for the next four months,” Atishi said after assuming charge as Chief Minister at the Secretariat.
Atishi explained that her appointment was temporary and symbolic.
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“For the last two years, the BJP has left no stone unturned in throwing muck on Arvind Kejriwal. He was put in jail for six months. He said he would not sit on the CM chair again until the people of Delhi consider him honest. The court also said that the agency arrested Arvind Kejriwal with malice,” she said.
“This chair belongs to Arvind Kejriwal. I am confident that in the elections to be held in February, the people of Delhi will make Arvind Kejriwal the Chief Minister again. Till then, this empty chair will remain here,” she said.
Earlier on Saturday, she took oath as Cabinet minister and Chief Minister of Delhi along with Gopal Rai, Kailash Gahlot, Saurabh Bharadwaj, Imran Hussain, and Mukesh Ahlawat. However, one post remains vacant.
Atishi’s new Ministers had reaffirmed their commitment to working under the leadership of the party’s national convener, Arvind Kejriwal.
Atishi is the third woman to become Chief Minister of Delhi and also the youngest to hold the top post. Her succession to the CM post followed Kejriwal’s resignation as the Chief Minister after his bail in the liquor policy scam by the Supreme Court.
Atishi, who represents Delhi’s Kalkaji constituency, was unanimously chosen as the leader for the top post at the AAP legislature party meeting on September 17.
Meanwhile, BJP has criticised the AAP party’s ‘empty chair’ gesture for Kejriwal, calling it a ‘gimmick’.
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–IANS
