Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal apologised to the people for the chaos at his inaugural ‘janata durbar’ held at the Secretariat on Saturday. The hearing will remain suspended till a bigger venue is found and a better system evolved.
“We will have better arrangements the next time. Maybe we can organise this in a stadium or some where larger,” he said at a press conference called to announce the induction of IBN 7 anchor Ashutosh in the Aam Aadmi Party.
Responding to criticism by the Opposition about the wisdom of holding a ‘durbar’ in the open, the Chief Minister said: “The other option is for me to sit in my office with a set two-hour public meeting time during which 15 to 20 people can meet me as the guard at the entrance will screen them.”
There were five categories of complaints that were heard, Mr. Kejriwal said. The first category was “lack of implementation.” The second were about “policy-related” complaints that need time; the third were suggestions that would be sent to the respective departments; the fourth: “miscellaneous complaints” on benefits individuals were not receiving, and the fifth category were complaints that were not government-related.
Asked about the move to waive power charges for people who were victimised because of the AAP campaign against power companies, Mr. Kejriwal said he had sought the list of such cases. “We will study the financial and other implications before taking a decision.”
For his part, Mr. Ashutosh said he joined the AAP because he believed in its ideology of “returning power to the people.”
He had no idea what his role would be. For now, he will attend Kumar Vishwas’s rally in Amethi on Sunday.
