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Arvind Kejriwal asks 'honest' officials to contact him, says no magic wand but nothing is impossible

AAP chief says he doesn't have a magic wand to solve problems, invites all to Ramlila grounds.

Ghaziabad: Set to be sworn-in as Delhi Chief Minister on Saturday, Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said he does not have a magic wand to solve all the problems but nothing is impossible if honest people join hands.

45-year-old Kejriwal, who will be administered oath of office along with six AAP MLAs, at the historic Ramlila Maidan here said there will be no VIPs at the ceremony and 'everyone is invited'.

"It is open for all. No VIP is there. All 'aam admi' will be present. You are all invited," he told reporters.

Read here: Kejriwal swearing-in coincides with Congress history

Portfolios of the new ministers will be announced in the next two days, he said. The cabinet ministers who will take oath along with Kejriwal are Manish Sisodia, Rakhi Birla, Somnath Bharti, Saurabh Bhardwaj, Girish Soni and Satendra Jain.

The Chief Minister-designate asked honest officials and employees of Delhi government to contact him through SMS or email so that they can be deployed at places where they can work to solve Delhi's problems.

"I would request them to contact me through SMS or email, we will depute good people at good places and want to move ahead with them. I don't have a magic wand to solve all the problems, but if good, honest and efficient people join us nothing is impossible," he said.

"For the first time, there is a Chief Minister who is looking for honest officials to work for him, otherwise whenever a new CM comes, he or she looks for those officials who can earn them commission through corruption," he said. If honest officials join us, it can help us giving a corruption-free government, he said.

Asked how AAP would verify if somebody is honesty, he said, "We have a network and we will find out. A team of officials like present education secretary Rajendra Kumar are looking for honest and dynamic officials".

Kejriwal reiterated that as soon as he assumes power he would ensure 700 litres of water supply to each household and said all the necessary groundwork is being done. While calling upon people to come in large numbers at Ramlila ground for the swearing-in ceremony, Kejriwal said he will speak to his guru Anna Hazare and ask him to grace the occasion.

"Anna Hazare is my guru and I would personally talk to him on phone to invite him for the ceremony," he said.

"The invitation would be sent from the government's side and I had asked them to send an invitation to Hazare, Kiran Bedi and Justice Santosh Hegde," Kejriwal said.

In Ralegan Siddhi, Hazare said he would not be able to attend the ceremony on health grounds.

Speaking about the problems facing people, Kejriwal said he will take the help of a team of experts from IIT or IIM as and when required as 'we can't fix everything ourselves'.

Questioned if he would consult Congress which is extending outside support to AAP, on appointment of speaker, he said, "Why will we consult them".

Asked about problems of homeless and destitute who are forced to sleep in the open in the chilling winter night, he said it was an important task which can't be fulfilled without the help of 1.7 crore population of Delhi.

"There are still one lakh people who are fighting cold these days.We will soon install camps for them in different parts of Delhi," he said.

Earlier, Kejriwal held Janta Darbar to listen to the people's grievances and their suggestions. People from as far as Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Kerala, Bihar and Rajasthan had come to meet him.

People from various parts of Delhi including some government employees also met him and demanded an end to the contractual system in the Delhi government. Some also asked him to take into account the pollution in Yamuna river and work on it on priority basis.

Next: Kejriwal turns down Ghaziabad SSP's request for security cover, sends back cops

Kejriwal turns down Ghaziabad SSP's request for security cover

Ghaziabad: AAP convener and Delhi Chief Minister designate Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday turned down Ghaziabad SSP's request for taking security cover.

This morning, Kejriwal told Uttar Pradesh Police officials, deployed by SSP Dharmendra Singh outside his house, that he does not need any security and they should go back.

"We came here to provide security to Arvind Kejriwal, but he asked us to leave and said he doesn't need any security cover," said a constable, who was deployed by the Ghaziabad SSP outside Kejriwal's residence.

The Ghaziabad SSP had deployed five UP police personnel outside Kejriwal's house for his protection. "After Kejriwal turned down our request, SSP has now asked us to come back and we are going back to police line," the constable added.

( Source : PTI )
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