NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Atishi on Monday assumed the role of Delhi's eighth chief minister and placed an empty chair next to her own in honor of party convenor Arvind Kejriwal.
"Today, I have taken the charge as Delhi CM. I am feeling the same as Lord Bharat took the reign after Lord Ram went on 'Vanvaas'. Arvind Kejriwal has set a new benchmark, he was kept in jail in false case. He said that he will not sit on the chair again until the people of Delhi deem him honest. The election is near. People will choose him. Until then, this chair would wait for him," Atishi said while taking charge as the Delhi chief minister.
The Delhi Assembly will convene for a session on September 26 and 27.
Atishi has retained her previous 13 portfolios from the Kejriwal government, including education, revenue, finance, power, and PWD.
"I will work for four months as the chief minister of Delhi like Bharat did by keeping Lord Ram's Khadaun on the throne. Arvind Kejriwal has set an example of dignity in politics by stepping down. The BJP left no stone unturned to tarnish his image," she said.
Atishi chose to sit on a different chair than the one used by Kejriwal.
BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya took aim at Delhi chief minister Atishi, accusing her of political theatrics. In a tweet, Malviya said: "This drama in Delhi must stop. Today Atishi Marlena took charge by placing an empty chair next to her chief minister's chair. That means Atishi is the Manmohan Singh of the Delhi government and the real chief minister is Arvind Kejriwal, whom the Supreme Court has stopped from going to the Delhi Secretariat, let alone signing files."
"This is a mockery of the constitution made by Baba Saheb. The oath of office and secrecy of the chief minister was taken by Marlena, not by the ghost of Kejriwal sitting on an empty chair," he further added.
BJP MP Manoj Tiwari launched a fresh attack on Atishi, criticising her for allegedly undermining the chief minister's position. Tiwari said, "If she displays an empty chair, it raises many questions. It suggests she does not see herself as the chief minister. By considering someone else as CM while holding the post, it disrespects the office and the Constitution."
He further added, "I have written a letter to Delhi CM Atishi, but who will read it? How can a chief minister admit to being a puppet? They are hurting public sentiment."
Atishi was sworn-in as chief minister on Saturday after Arvind Kejriwal's resignation, becoming the youngest leader to hold the position and the third woman CM in the capital’s history, following Sushma Swaraj and Sheila Dikshit.
Saurabh Bharadwaj has been assigned eight departments, the most after Atishi, including health, tourism, art, and culture.
Newly appointed Mukesh Ahlawat has been given the portfolios of labour, SC and ST, employment, land, and building departments. Gopal Rai has retained his previous portfolios of development, general administration department, environment, and forest.
Kailash Gahlot has also kept his earlier portfolios of transport, home, administrative reforms, women, and child development.
The new Cabinet, led by Atishi, faces a long list of pending projects, schemes, and new initiatives to be launched in the coming months before Delhi goes to the polls in February next year.