Kejriwal Announces Porta Cabins For Homeless In Delhi

Delhi government today announced a series of measures to provide roof to the homeless in biting cold sweeping the city and decided to replace all the night shelters being run from plastic tents with porta cabins within three days.

“An order has been passed to replace all night shelters with porta cabins within three days,” Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said in a statement released here.

He also directed SDMs to conduct inspections in their respective areas during night hours and ensure night shelters are being run properly. SDMs have also been asked to prepare a list of areas, where night shelters are required, by 4 January morning.

“During night-time inspections by our ministers Manish Sisodia and Rakhi Birla and AAP leader Sanjay Singh, it came to our knowledge that many people are sleeping under flyovers and other such places and not willing to move to night shelters. The government has decided to provide porta cabin- based shelter to them on the spot,” Kejriwal said.

The chief minister said the government is also seeking the assistance of all MLAs in ensuring better facilities at the night shelters.

“We are writing to MLAs saying their help is also needed in this matter and sending them a list of night shelters in their respective areas. We are appealing them to visit night shelters,” he said, adding, that the ministers and AAP volunteers will also assist them in this initiative.

Slamming the previous government over its failure to provide relief to the homeless, Kejriwal said a case has been going on in the Delhi High Court since 2010 but no actions were taken by the government for the welfare of the destitute.

Kejriwal said AAP volunteers, along with members of NGO Ashray Adhikar Abhiyan, would conduct a survey to locate places where porta cabins are required.

“Members of the NGO today met us and gave a list of 45 locations where the homeless are living. Tonight AAP volunteers and NGO members will visit those 45 locations and by tomorrow they would prepare a list of spots where porta cabins are required,” said Kejriwal.

Arvind Kejriwal Decides Not To Move Into House Allotted To Him

Kejriwal said that he will be requesting the government to look for a smaller house for him.

“My wells-wishers, friends and supporters called me up and asked me not to shift to that place. I even received SMS from the people in this regard. So I am not going to shift in those flats. I will request the government to look for a smaller house for me. Till then, I will work from my house in Ghaziabad,” he told reporters ahead of a crucial party meeting here.

Kejriwal has been allotted two five-bedroom duplex flats on Bhagwan Das Road one of which is to be used as his office.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs came down heavily on the Chief Minister in the Delhi Assembly on the issue saying his decision to accept two flats was in ‘total contradiction’ of AAP’s claim that it will practice austerity.

Delhi Chief Secretary DM Sapolia had earlier proposed a bungalow for Kejriwal as the Chief Minister. Kejriwal had refused his proposal.

Kejriwal and his six ministers had decided not to stay in any government bungalows but instead live in modest flats. Kejriwal has been living in a society flat in Kaushambi and had refused to shift to a ‘Type-Seven bungalow’ which he is entitled to after taking oath as the Chief Minister on December 28.

Arvind Kejriwal Wins Delhi Assembly Trust Vote

The minority Delhi government, led by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), on Thursday won the trust vote in the legislative assembly with Congress support, passing its first test since assuming office five days ago.

The motion of confidence was passed by the House with the support of the Congress, Janata Dal (United) or JD (U) and an independent, after chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said the vote was a test of who was on the side of the common man.

The 28 AAP members, along with seven Congress MLAs, a lone JD(U) member and an independent member, stood up in support of the motion when pro-tem speaker Matin Ahmad asked those who backed the motion to rise. The 31 members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and one member of its ally, the Shiromani Akali Dal, opposed the motion.

“Today the question in front of the House is: who all will stand for the common man, for the issues of the common man,” Kejriwal said in his 25-minute reply in a debate that lasted four-and-a-half hours.

“They should also decide as to which side they are in the fight between truth and honesty in politics and whether they want to participate in it,” he said.

The common man of Delhi has taken the lead in showing the rest of the country in which direction national politics should head, Kejriwal, a former Indian Revenue Service officer, said.

AAP emerged as the second largest party in the House, behind the BJP, after the 4 December elections which ousted the Congress after it had been in power for 15 years under Sheila Dikshit.

Arvind Kejriwal To Become Chief Minister Of Delhi; On 26 Dec At Jantar Mantar

AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal met lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung and apprised him of latest development about forming government in Delhi.

He told the lieutenant governor that AAP is ready to form government with the help of Congress on December 26. He is likely to take oath at iconic Jantar Mantar.

This comes after AAP sought public opinion and held jan sabhas to reach any conclusion over forming government in Delhi.

Although the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) did not announce the results of the referendum on Sunday, the positive response was evident in most of the meetings it organised, including the four attended by Kejriwal in the New Delhi constituency.

“The response is an overwhelming ‘yes’ and we cannot run away from this responsibility given to us by the people,” said Aam Aadmi Party leader Manish Sisodia.

The party is keen to hold Kejriwal’s swearing in ceremony at Jantar Mantar, from where it launched its anti-corruption crusade, in a departure from the practice of taking oath at the governor’s house, Raj Bhawan.

After BJP had informed the LG that it would like to sit in opposition, the Congress,which has just eight MLAs, offered unconditional outside support for AAP to form the government. Following this the referendum was organised by means of SMS, phone calls, online voting and jan sabhas.

AAP Ready To Form Government

Strongly indicating that Delhi’s wait for a government could be over soon, Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal said auditing of power companies and legislating the Jan Lokpal bill would be top priorities for the new city government.

Though he added the proviso that a formal announcement on government formation will await till a referendum AAP is conducting is over, Kejriwal asserted AAP would do a much better job than traditional parties like BJP and Congress if it assumed office.

AAP has to take a formal decision on whether it is accepting the outside support of eight Congress MLAs that will take its numbers in the 70-member Delhi assembly to the halfway mark of 36.

Dismissing the view aired in Congress and BJP circles that AAP will find running a government a challenging task, Kejriwal said, “Sarkar chala ke dikhayenge, inse achchi chala ke dikhayenge aur thok baja kar chala kar dikhayenge (We will run a government, we will do a better job and do so with elan).”

The confident AAP leader looked set to become Delhi’s next chief minister, saying the apprehension that the party will stumble once in office is not a valid assessment. “I just want to say that political parties should stop challenging us. First they said they (AAP) won’t get candidates, then they said we can’t get elected. Now we have won 28 seats.”

Kejriwal said mainstream parties continue to underestimate AAP. “I want to tell them: stop challenging the power of the aam aadmi. They have no idea how powerful the aam aadmi is. They have made it appear we will not be able to run the government. Governance is not like going to the moon. We will run the government better than them.”

On the ongoing referendum, Kejriwal was non-committal. “We have received both points of view, some who feel we should stay away from politics and have nothing to do with it and there are others who feel that we should form government. There is nothing unethical in either. It is a political decision. We will completely go by public opinion,” he said.

But senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia indicated where the ongoing referendum is headed, saying, “We are receiving overwhelming support for our decision to form the government. There is no reason not to form government.” The party is expected to make an announcement by Monday.

Kejriwal, who is gearing up for two days of jan sabhas across the city, also dismissed sceptics who criticized the party’s manifesto as a pie in the sky.

Asked how promises like auditing of power companies or provision of 700 litres of water for every household will be fulfilled, he said, “Our manifesto has been carefully thought out after public consultation. It is practical and implementable. Congress has not been able to fulfill its 1998 manifesto so why are they are challenging us? It is our priority and we will achieve it.”

He asserted that if Congress or BJP withdrew support on a bill, the parties will risk being exposed. “The public does not expect the moon. They will understand that if we bring a bill and Congress and BJP do not support us, it is these parties who will be exposed. The government is being made on issue-based support,” he said.

Having decided to step up to the table, AAP’s pitch for the 2014 polls seems underway. The referendum, Kejriwal said had made their party a talking point even among those who had not supported them earlier.

He added, “It is important to realize that we are redefining democracy. People are already talking about our party and feeling empowered. The process is important for us.”