[1]New Delhi : Arvind Kejriwal, chief minister of Delhi, has demonstrated on the floor of the state legislature that he has the support of 36 of Delhi’s 70 MLAs, a clear majority. He won a trust vote this evening with the support of eight legislators of the Congress. The BJP’s 31 legislators opposed him. Mr Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party has 28 members in the Delhi Assembly.
In his speech before the vote, Arvind Kejriwal said, “I have not stood up here to save a government…we want swaraaj, the people’s rule, in Delhi.” Closing the debate on his trust motion, Mr Kejriwal, in a speech much shorter than leaders of other parties, presented the 17 points he said his government will focus on and emphasised that its raison de etre is to end corruption, because the aam aadmi or common man wants honest politics. (Highlights of Arvind Kejriwal’s speech)
After Mr Kejriwal’s speech the chair asked those who supported him to stand and declared that he had won the confidence of the House.(Delhi Assembly: see the numbers here) The Congress’ Arvinder Singh Lovely assured Mr Kejriwal that he would continue to enjoy the support of his party “till you keep taking decisions that benefit the people.” He cautioned though that some of the swift decisions that Mr Kejriwal has taken in the last few days should have been better thought through.
During the debate, legislators from the BJP engaged in a nasty slanging match with lone Janata Dal United member Shoaib Iqbal, impelling a rebuke from the chair and a warning that security would be called in.Mr Kejriwal and members of his Aam Aadmi Party did not wear their trademark topis or caps for the proceedings today. The BJP has said wearing caps inside the house is disrespectful.
Dr Harsh Vardhan censured Aam Admi Ministers for using metro rides to work as a photo-op. “You are breaking the rules of the metro and causing a security problem for other commuters,” he said.
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