New Delhi, December 27
Determined to retain the ‘Aam Aadmi’ label, Delhi Chief Minister-designate Arvind Kejriwal and his ministers will take the Metro to reach Ramlila Maidan for the public ceremony where Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung will administer the oath of office at noon.

Kejriwal, who will be accompanied by family members including wife, parents and children, plans to take the Metro coach from Kaushambi near his residence in Ghaziabad at 10 am. This will be the first time that the Chief Minister and his team will take a public transport for the oath-taking function. In the 1980s, the then Uttar Pradesh leader Vishwanath Pratap Singh travelled by a state roadways bus to file his nomination for the Assembly poll. Kejriwal said the decision reaffirms the party’s commitment to end the ‘VIP’ and ‘lal batti’ (red beacon) culture in politics — the principle that prompted him to reject both police security and official accommodation which go with the office of the Chief Minister.

His Cabinet ministers — Manish Sisodia, Rakhi Birla, Somnath Bharti, Saurabh Bhardwaj, Satyendra Jain and Girish Soni —will also board the Metro from their respective constituencies to reach the venue.

“We are like any other citizen. So we have decided to travel by Metro,” Kejriwal told mediapersons.

“It (travel by metro) will not cause any trouble to the public,” minister-designate Manish Sisodia, who represents Patparganj constituency, said. Inviting people on an online forum, Kejriwal said no passes were required for the function. “All are welcome. It’s your programme,” he said even as the Delhi Government put out a public notice in newspapers instructing people on how to reach the venue close to the walled-city in old Delhi.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) founder, Kejriwal, also questioned the government’s timing of the move to hike CNG prices in Delhi and neighbouring Ghaziabad and Noida, just two days ahead of the installation of his government.