NEW DELHI: The BJP formed its government in Delhi on Thursday after more than 26 years, with Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and her six ministers being sworn in at the Ramlila Ground and the new Cabinet approved the implementation of Ayushman Bharat Yojana in its first meeting.
Addressing a press conference soon after the Cabinet meeting, the chief minister announced allocation of portfolios among the newly appointed ministers and said that 14 pending CAG reports will be tabled in the first session of the Delhi Assembly.
While Gupta has kept with her finance, services, vigilance, revenue, and women and child development, among other departments, her Cabinet colleague Parvesh Verma has been allotted PWD, water, legislative affairs, irrigation and flood control, and gurdwara elections portfolios. Ashish Sood got home, power, education, and urban development, among other departments.
After being administered the oath, Gupta, the first-time legislator from Shalimar Bagh, said that not a single day will be wasted in realising the mission of “Viksit Delhi” and assured that the new BJP government will fulfil all the promises made to people of the national capital.
The swearing-in ceremony at the sprawling Ramlila Ground was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the top BJP brass and NDA leaders. Gupta is Delhi’s fourth woman chief minister after her party’s Sushma Swaraj, Congress’ Sheila Dikshit and AAP’s Atishi.
The 50-year-old chief minister, who took charge of her office at the Delhi Secretariat in the afternoon, is also the only woman in the NDA team of chief ministers and the second in the country after TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal.
The former student leader presides over an all-male cabinet that includes giant slayer Parvesh Verma, who defeated Arvind Kejriwal in the elections, Hindutva poster boy Kapil Mishra and BJP’s Sikh face Manjinder Singh Sirsa. Besides, Ashish Sood, Ravinder Indraj Singh and Pankaj Singh were also administered the oath of office by Lt Governor V K Saxena.
At her first presser, Gupta said the previous AAP government did not allow the Ayusman Bharat scheme in the city, preventing the people from availing its benefits.
During his election rallies for the February 5 assembly polls, Prime Minister Modi had promised that the central health insurance scheme would be approved in the first Cabinet meeting if the BJP formed its government in Delhi.
The chief minister also announced the portfolios of her and Cabinet ministers.
She has kept a total of 10 portfolios, the highest among her Cabinet ministers, with finance, services, vigilance, revenue, women and child development among other departments.
The CM said that her Cabinet colleague Parvesh Verma was given charge of PWD, water, legislative affairs, irrigation and flood control, while Ashish Sood got home, power, urban development and education portfolios.
Kapil Mishra got law and justice, labour and employment, and tourism, while his cabinet colleague Manjinder Singh Sirsa received industries, forest and environment, food and supply departments.
Pankaj Singh was allocated health, transport and information technology departments, while Ravinder Indraj got social welfare, SC & ST welfare, cooperative and elections.
The Mahila Samriddhi Yojna promising Rs 2,500 per month to eligible women every month was also discussed in the Cabinet meeting, the chief minister said, adding that further discussion on the scheme was required as the payments to the women cannot be done without putting in place a system for their registration.
At the Ramlila Ground, all the ministers took oath in Hindi, except for Sirsa who did so in Punjabi.
Congratulating the new chief minister, Modi expressed confidence that she will work for the city’s development with full vigour.
“She has risen from the grassroots, being active in campus politics, state organisation, municipal administration and now MLA as well as Chief Minister,” he said.
Soon after taking charge of her office at the Delhi Secretariat, Gupta asserted that not a single day will be wasted in realising the “Viksit Delhi” mission.
“Not a single day will be wasted in realising our mission of a ‘Viksit Delhi’ (developed Delhi). We will fulfil all the commitments made to the people of Delhi,” she told reporters after taking charge.
About 50,000 people crammed into the historic ground, which has seen many a rally and protest through the decades, festooned with marigold flowers. There was dance, music and drumbeats with many waving BJP flags, chanting “Jai Shri Ram” and “Modi, Modi”.
The event was attended by chief ministers of states ruled by the BJP and its NDA allies — Maharashtra’s Devendra Fadnavis, Andhra Pradesh’s Chandrababu Naidu, Goa’s Pramod Sawant, Haryana’s Nayab Singh Saini and Meghalaya’s Conrad Sangma.
Union ministers, including Amit Shah, J P Nadda who is also party chief, Rajnath Singh and Hardeep Puri were there too to mark the occasion of the party adding one more electoral win to its kitty.
Uttar Pradesh deputy chief ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, and Andhra Pradesh’s Pawan Kalyan were present too.
After the ceremony, the new cabinet and other dignitaries headed for lunch at a luxury hotel in the city.
The coming days will likely be politically fraught with the AAP — which cedes control of the city after 10 successive years, first under Arvind Kejriwal and then Atishi — and the BJP facing off on various issues.
Ahead of the polls, the BJP’s manifesto aimed to outmatch the AAP’s announcement of Rs 2,100 monthly support if it came to power.
“They will have to give an account for each and every penny to the people,” Gupta said about the AAP.
“Fulfilling the dream of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the responsibility of all 48 BJP MLAs in the capital,” she added.
Among the first ports of call of Delhi’s new government will be the cleaning of Yamuna, BJP leaders said.
In his speech during the BJP’s victory celebrations after the results were declared on February 8, the prime minister had reaffirmed his commitment to cleaning the river.
The challenges before the Gupta-led government are many.
It will also have to fulfil key election promises, continue welfare schemes of the previous government, and fix the city’s pollution and infrastructure issues. It will have to do all this while keeping a check on the financial health of the national capital.
Another major challenge for the BJP will be to continue welfare schemes initiated by the AAP government, including free electricity up to 200 units, free water connection and free bus rides for women, among others.
While the BJP has assured voters that these benefits will not be discontinued, AAP leaders have questioned the party’s long-term commitment.
Gupta is a law graduate from Delhi University with strong RSS roots. She entered politics as an Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) member in 1992. Born in Haryana’s Julana, she has a 32-year association with the RSS and is a former Delhi civic councillor. (PTI)