Rekha Gupta sworn in as CM along with six ministers
New Delhi, Feb 20: Debutant legislator Rekha Gupta was sworn in as Delhi chief minister along with six ministers on Thursday in a grand show of strength full of colour and spectacle to mark the BJP’s return to power in the city after more than 26 years.
The ceremony at the sprawling Ramlila Ground was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the top BJP brass and NDA leaders. Gupta is Delhi’s fourth woman chief minister after her party’s Sushma Swaraj, the Congress’ Sheila Dikshit and AAP’s Atishi. The 50-year-old MLA from Shalimar Bagh, who took charge of her office at the Delhi Secretariat in the afternoon, is also the only woman in the NDA team of chief ministers and the second in the country after TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal.
The former student leader presides over an all-male cabinet that includes giant slayer Parvesh Verma, who defeated Arvind Kejriwal in the elections, Hindutva poster boy Kapil Mishra and the BJP’s Sikh face Manjinder Singh Sirsa. Besides, Ashish Sood, Ravinder Indraj Singh and Pankaj Singh were also administered the oath of office by Lt Governor V K Saxena. All the ministers took oath in Hindi, except for Sirsa who did so in Punjabi.
Congratulating the new chief minister, Modi expressed confidence that she will work for the city’s development with full vigour. “She has risen from the grassroots, being active in campus politics, state organisation, municipal administration and now MLA as well as Chief Minister.,” he said. About 50,000 people crammed into the historic ground, which has seen many a rally and protest through the decades, festooned with marigold flowers and buntings. There was dance, music and drumbeats with many waving BJP flags, chanting “Jai Shri Ram”, “Modi, Modi” and a bunch of enthusiastic supporters singing “Ram Ji Ko Keh Dena, Jai Arya Ram”. (PTI)
Portfolios: New CM keeps finance, WCD; Verma gets PWD, water
New Delhi, Feb 20: Newly-appointed Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Thursday announced allocation of portfolios among the Council of Ministers, keeping with her finance, services, vigilance, revenue, and women and child development, among other portfolios.
Gupta has been assigned a total of 10 portfolios, the highest among all ministers. Her responsibilities also include the general administration department, land and building, information and public relations, and administrative reforms.
Addressing her first press conference as the chief minister after chairing a Cabinet meeting, Gupta said her colleague Parvesh Verma has been allotted PWD, water, legislative affairs, irrigation and flood control, and gurdwara elections portfolios.
Ashish Sood got home, power, urban development, education, higher education, training and technical education.
Kapil Mishra has been made the minister for law and justice, labour and employment, art, culture, language and tourism, while Manjinder Singh Sirsa has been allotted the industries, forest and environment, and food and supply portfolios. (PTI)
