'Will work as CM like Ramayana's Bharat': Atishi equates Kejriwal to Lord Ram; BJP calls it 'drama' (WATCH)

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Atishi, who took oath as the Chief Minister of Delhi on September 21, officially took charge of her position on Monday. Atishi took charge as the eighth Chief Minister of Delhi, following the resignation of Arvind Kejriwal. After assuming office, Atishi sat in a different chair, placing an empty chair next to hers, in a symbolic gesture towards her party chief Arvind Kejriwal.

Drawing a symbolic comparison to the Hindu epic Ramayana, Atishi said, "My situation is like that of Bharat, when Lord Shri Rama went into exile, and Bharat had to govern in his absence." 

“I have taken charge as the chief minister of Delhi today and accepted this responsibility. My feelings today are the same as Bharat's when Lord Ram went into exile for 14 years and Bharat had to manage the governance of Ayodhya,” said Atishi.

The newly appointed chief minister said that just as Bharat placed Lord Ram's ‘khadaun’ (sandals) on the throne, she would lead the Delhi government for the next four months until the upcoming elections.

"Arvind Kejriwal has set an example of dignity in politics by stepping down. The BJP left no stone unturned to tarnish his image. Fake cases were filed against Arvind Kejriwal and he was lodged in jail for six months,” claimed Atishi.

"This chair belongs to Arvind Kejriwal. I am confident that the people of Delhi will reinstate him after four months," she said.

“I hope people will bring back Kejriwal in February polls, his chair will remain in the CM office till then,” she added.

Also read: Atishi takes charge as Delhi Chief Minister, leaves Arvind Kejriwal's chair empty

BJP slams Atishi's act, calls it 'drama'

BJP slammed Atishi’s act and said, “The drama should stop”. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), BJP’s IT cell chief Amit Malviya wrote, “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 Atishi, not by the ghost of Kejriwal sitting on an empty chair,” Malviya’s post in Hindi suggested.

On the other hand, BJP’s Shehzad Poonawala, in a video message, referred to Atishi as the “new Manmohan Singh” of Delhi.

Apart of political leaders, netizens also objected to Atishi's act of placing two chairs in the chief minister's office and reacted strongly, calling it an 'insult to Indian Constitution'.

 

 

Atishi (43) was sworn in along with her cabinet on Saturday, with key members retaining their portfolios from the Kejriwal government. Atishi herself was overseeing crucial departments such as education, finance, power, and PWD, managing a total of 13 portfolios. Saurabh Bharadwaj, who holds eight portfolios, took charge the same day.