Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)'s Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal attended Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta's oath-taking ceremony at Ramlila Maidan on Thursday, which was also attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with other top BJP and NDA leaders.
The sighting of Swati Maliwal comes amid her ongoing feud with the leadership of AAP, the party that had nominated her to the Rajya Sabha.
At the ceremony, Swati Maliwal said, “My greetings to Delhi CM Rekha Gupta... The people of Delhi have chosen her with great expectations. I hope she meets those expectations...”
On Wednesday, after Rekha Gupta was named Delhi’s new CM, Maliwal, who had been a strong critic of AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal during the Assembly elections, congratulated her. Maliwal had also raised concerns about the pollution in the Yamuna during the elections. She collected river water and protested against former CM Kejriwal alongside a group of Purvanchali women.
{{/usCountry}}On Wednesday, after Rekha Gupta was named Delhi’s new CM, Maliwal, who had been a strong critic of AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal during the Assembly elections, congratulated her. Maliwal had also raised concerns about the pollution in the Yamuna during the elections. She collected river water and protested against former CM Kejriwal alongside a group of Purvanchali women.
{{/usCountry}}Speaking to ANI on Thursday, she reiterated her stance, saying, “How shameful it is that Arvind Kejriwal betrayed the movement he started - he became the CM with his fight against corruption and had started such a massive movement. CAG reports from 2016 have not been tabled in Vidhan Sabha till date. So, I want those reports to be tabled, all the corruption be revealed and strict action be taken. I appeal to the govt to clean river Yamuna at the earliest. It is sad that Yamuna has been reduced to a drainage in last 10 years. It is important to rejuvenate it.”
Following the swearing-in, BJP legislators, including the newly inducted ministers, are expected to inspect the Yamuna River.
Rekha Gupta takes oath as 4th Delhi CM
Rekha Gupta was sworn in as Delhi's chief minister, leading the BJP's 48 MLAs in the assembly, while AAP will serve as the main opposition with 22 MLAs.
Six other ministers—Parvesh Verma, Ashish Sood, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Ravinder Indraj Singh, Kapil Mishra, and Pankaj Kumar Singh—also took the oath of office.
Top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, home minister Amit Shah, BJP chief JP Nadda, and defence Mminister Rajnath Singh, attended the ceremony.
Other dignitaries present included Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Rajasthan CM Bhajan Lal Sharma, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, Goa CM Pramod Sawant, Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu, Bihar Deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha, and Rajasthan Deputy CM Prem Chand Bairwa.
Hours after taking the oath, Rekha Gupta formally assumed office at the Delhi Secretariat. She is the BJP’s second woman chief minister in Delhi and the fourth female CM of the national capital.
Her first official engagements include visiting Vasudev Ghat and Yamuna Bazaarand chairing her cabinet’s first meeting.