Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal will be sworn in as Delhi chief minister on December 28 at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi. Invites will be sent out to social activist Anna Hazare, Kiran Bedi and Santosh Hegde for the ceremony.
The AAP on Wednesday put up a united front quashing reports that one of its MLAs was upset that his name was removed from the list of probable ministers.
Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal denied any rift within the party over naming of the cabinet which was overshadowed by anger over the exclusion of Laxmi Nagar MLA Vinod Kumar Binny's name .
'Binny came to me last evening. He told me he does not want a ministerial berth and that he was here for a mission. Binny said he has conveyed to the media that he was not upset,' said Kejriwal.
Binny, who had walked out of a meeting convened at chief minister-designate Kejriwal's house on Tuesday, also said that he is not angry with the party.
'There is no rift between me and party. I am not here to become a minister, but to serve the people. (I) will fulfill the responsibility the party give me,' Binny told PTI.
He added, 'I haven't spoken to Arvind (Kejriwal) as there was no occasion to talk, but will go to him when it is needed.'
: AAP doesn't have alliance with Congress, says Yogendra Yadav
Read more: Kejriwal rejects VIP culture, says no to bungalow
Binny, who had defeated former Congress health minister AK Walia, had said on Tuesday that he would hold a press conference on Wednesday to make 'certain revelations'.
Sources said Binny was offered the post of parliamentary secretary to the chief minister, but he wanted a key department.
Senior party leaders Sanjay Singh and Kumar Vishwas went to Binny's residence late on Tuesday night to pacify him.
Binny said his meeting with Singh and Vishwas was a 'routine' one.
'Sanjay and Kumar came to meet me and they spent some time discussing routine issues,' he said.
Denying that he was miffed over not getting a ministerial berth, Binny said, 'There is no demand and I do not want any post. I will work wherever and whatever responsibility is given to me.'
'Kejriwal is the chief minister and it is his prerogative to choose his council of ministers.'
Asked if he was offered the post of parliamentary secretary as a deal, Binny said, 'There is no deal.'
Questioned whether his Congress background worked against him, Binny said it is 'unfortunate' if that's the situation because almost everybody has come from either the Congress or BJP into the AAP which is a new party.
Kejriwal insisted that his party does not have an alliance or tie-up with any party.
'We are concentrating on issues, not support. Whoever supports our 18-point agenda supports us,' he said reacting to reports of a Congress rethink over extending support to the AAP.
The Congress on Tuesday had said that the opinion was divided within the party on extending support to the AAP over government formation in the Capital, but ruled out any change of stand, for now.
Read more: Read more: Kejriwal names six ministers, but faces rebellion from within
Some leaders felt that the decision to offer support to AAP without the rookie party asking for it was unwarranted, party general secretary Janardan Dwivedi said.
There is also a view that the party miscalculated in assuming that AAP leader and now Kejriwal would turn down the Congress and opt not to form the government.
The AAP leader said he was working on portfolios to be given to six MLAs whose names were recommended to Lt Governor to be included in his cabinet
(With inputs from PTI)
Posted by Unknown on Wednesday, December 25, 2013 - Rating: 4.5
0 comments "Arvind Kejriwal to be sworn in as Delhi chief minister on December 28"
Post a Comment