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Ramlila decks up for Kejriwal coronation

Unlike last year, the swearing-in ceremony of the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party government would be a prim affair. The sprawling Ramlila maidan at the heart of the national Capital is all set for Saturday’s swearing-in ceremony of Delhi Chief Minister-designate Arvind Kejriwal and his Cabinet colleagues.

“There is a VIP enclosure, but it would be used for those invited by the Lieutenant-Governor, the Central government officials and the VIPs,” said a PWD official. The AAP has also invited members of the Union Cabinet and Opposition leaders like Ajay Maken and Kiran Bedi for the ceremony.

Arvind Kejriwal will set out from Kaushambi around 11 am for the oath-taking ceremony, which has been scheduled at 12 noon. He would, unlike last time, not be taking the Metro service, but travel by personal conveyance. Apart from Kejriwal and his close aide Manish Sisodia, AAP leaders Satyendra Jain, Jitendra Tomar, Gopal Rai, Sandeep Kumar and Asim Ahmed Khan would take oath as ministers. Jain and Sisodia were ministers in the last AAP government too. The rest are all first-times.

From the Ramlila ground, Kejriwal will visit Rajghat, Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial, before heading to the Delhi Secretariat to officially take charge. Kejriwal will chair the Delhi government’s first Cabinet meeting at 4:30 pm on Saturday.

Some 40,000 chairs have been placed in neat columns covering the entire ground. About 10,000 more people are expected to stand and witness Kejriwal and his ministers take oath. More than 100,000 people had attended the event in 2013.

Around 3,000 police personnel have been deployed to ensure security at the venue. A special security ring has been thrown around the stage where Delhi L-G Najeeb Jung will administer the oath of the office. “There will be adequate security. Several CCTV cameras have been installed too,” said a senior officer. Besides, 16 LED TV screens have been installed so that people can watch the grand ceremony.

Kejriwal and his ministers had resigned from their positions on February 14, 2013 over the stalling of anti-graft Jan Lokpal legislation in the assembly. However, the AAP returned with a thumping 67-seat majority in the 70 member Assembly on the February 7 elections.
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