New Delhi, December 28
The first day of the Arvind Kejriwal government at Delhi Secretariat today was full of activity that kept high-ranking officials on their toes. He held first Cabinet today which followed by meetings with head of departments and the Delhi Police Commissioner and officials of Indraprastha Gas Ltd and the Delhi Jal Board.

Kejriwal allocated ministries to his six councils of ministers who were sworn-in today at Ramlila Maidan. Kejriwal kept major department like Home, Vigilance, Power and Finance with himself, while giving the charges of Revenue, PWD, Urban Development, Education, Higher Education, Local Bodies and Land and Building Departments to his close aide Manish Sisodia. Kejriwal will also be looking after Planning, Services and all other departments not allocated to the ministers.

The youngest minister in the Kejriwal Cabinet, 26-year old Rakhi Birla, will handle Social Welfare and Women and Child Development Departments. She has also been given the additional charge to formulate steps required for enhancing security of women. Rakhi is the only woman face in the Kejriwal team of ministers.

Kejriwal said Somnath Bharti, a postgraduate from IIT Delhi, will take the charge of Administrative Reforms, Law, Tourism and Culture. Bharti is legislature from the high-profile Greater Kailash constituency. The Administrative Reforms is high on Kejriwal's agenda with efforts to decentralise power and establish the mohalla sabha. The department is also likely to take steps to bring an end to the VIP culture and also provide time bound and efficient services to the people.

Girish Soni has been given charge of Labour, Development Skill Development and SC/ST Departments. Satyendra Jain has been allocated Health, Industries and Gurdwara Elections.

Apart from this, rooms to the newly sworn in ministers were also allotted. While Kejriwal will retain the Chief Minister's room at third floor of the Secretariat, Rakhi was allotted room No. 801 at level eight, Bharadwaj at room No. 808 at the same level, Sisodia room No. 608 at level six, Girish room No. 601 at the same level, Somnath was given room No. 708 at seventh floor and Satyender was allotted room No. 701 at the same level.

New secretaries to the ministers wre also been posted. Senior IAS officer Rajendra Kumar was appointed as the Secretary of the Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal. A 1989 batch IAS officer, Kumar, an IIT, Delhi, was the Higher Education Secretary and had earlier handled various departments, including power and transport.

C. Arvind will posted as Secretary to Sisodia, Vinay Bhushan to Somnath, D. Verma to Rakhi, P. K. Panda to Satyender, C. Uday Kumar to Girish and G. Sudhakar to Bharadwaj.

Reflecting Aam Aadmi credentials, Kejriwal today boarded a Metro from Kaushambi to the Barakhamba Metro station from where he took his car to reach the Ramlila Maidan where he was sworn-in as the seventh Chief Minister of Delhi.

The new Chief Minister and his six ministers have decided not to stay in any government bungalow, but instead live in modest flats.

New Delhi, December 28
Starting his innings, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today issued the orders to remove red beacons from all official vehicles of the Delhi Government and clarified against providing security cover to newly elected ministers in his first meeting after taking the oath of office.

Addressing the mediapersons after the first Cabinet meeting, Kejriwal said, "No minister or official will use red beacon," he said. The Cabinet discussed three main issues in the meeting which include finalising date to convene the assembly, steps required to end 'VIP culture' like restricting use of red beacons and security by government officials and MLAs in Delhi.

Kejriwal also held meetings with officials from Power and Transport departments, Indraprastha Gas Ltd, Delhi Jal Board at Secretariat which echoed with the hustle and bustle of Aam Admi Party workers. He also held meeting with Delhi Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi to discuss security issues. "We held discussions on women security and how to tighten noose on bad elements. The Delhi Government and the Police will work together to meet the challenges," said Bassi after the meeting.

The Cabinet meeting decided that no Personal Security Officer and escort vehicle will be provided to any official. "Security is to be allowed based on threat perception," Kejriwal said. In its manifesto, the AAP had promised to end 'VIP culture' in Delhi.

Later, the Chief Minister said there will be no witch-hunt against bureaucrats. "I have asked them to work with honesty," he said. There were apprehensions among certain bureaucrats, who were close to the previous regime, that they may be targeted by the new dispensation.

New Delhi, December 28
Senior BJP leaders today expressed confidence at the "Abhinandan Samaroh" that the party would win all seven Parliament seats in Delhi in the coming Lok Sabha elections.

Addressing the gathering during the programme at Talkatora Stadium, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj said that no one could defeat a united BJP and the party would have to turn the tables on its rivals in the coming Parliamentary polls. She advised that the BJP ruled Municipal Corporations in Delhi should project themselves as the best governed bodies and far ahead of the Delhi Government.

Addressing the BJP supporters and leaders, the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley said that the Aam Aadami Party (AAP) had got itself exposed by having an alliance with the corrupt Congress party which was completely rejected by the Delhi voters in recently held assembly polls.

Nitin Gadkari, Delhi election in charge, said, "The AAP has been propped up by the Congress to stall the BJP's victory march in Parliament, but this unholy alliance will not succeed. If one goes by votes polled in the recently held assembly elections, the BJP is far ahead of its rivals."

Delhi party president Vijay Goel said, "The party is all geared up for the Lok Sabha polls. We have emerged as the first choice of Delhi voters in the assembly elections but we took a principled stand while the AAP decided to have an alliance with a corrupt party against whom Delhiites had given clear verdict."

He said the party cadres are its real assets and they have been working hard. But now they will work even harder for the coming Lok Sabha polls.

New Delhi, December 28
Kejriwal today issued transfer order of eight high-ranking officials of the Delhi Government.

Archana Arora, Principal Secretary Home, has been transferred as Principal Secretary Finance. RK Verma, Principal Secretary Power, will now be posted as Principal Secretary Higher Education and Training and Technical Education with additional charge of Principal Secretary Information Technology (IT).

Arvind Ray, Principal Secretary-cum-Commissioner Development will hold additional charge of Principal Secretary-cum-Commissioner Transport.

MM Kutty, Principal Secretary Finance, Planning and Tourism has been transferred and posted as Principal Secretary Social Welfare and Women and Child Development.

Rajender Kumar, Secretary Higher Education holding additional charge of Secretary IT has been transferred and posted as Secretary to the Chief Minister.

DJB CEO Debashree Mukherjee is repatriated and posted as CMD DTC on deputation.

Puneet Goel, Secretary-cum-Commissioner Transport is posted as Secretary Power. Vinajy Kumar, is repatriated and posted as CEO DJB on deputation. 

New Delhi, December 28
Javed Raza, national general secretary of Janta Dal (United) asked the ruling party, AAP, and the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly to build a consensus on its lone party MLA Shoaib Iqbal, the senior-most legislator in the House, for the post of Speaker in the state assembly.

Iqbal, five-time MLA, has already pledged unconditional support to Arvind Kejriwal, who was sworn-in as the Chief Minister today.

Iqbal has been Deputy Speaker in the past and is currently the most senior member in the House. He is MLA from the Matia Mahal Assembly constituency. In this election he has defeated his nearest rival Congress candidate Mirza Javed. Just after the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi offered Kejriwal for his proposal to form the government, Iqbal congratulated him at his residence in Ghaziabad.

The last assembly election Iqbal had contested on the ticket of the LJP. But before this election he had joined the JD (U).

JD (U) MP K.C. Tyagi said the AAP coming to power in Delhi is "most unique experiment" in the Indian politics since independence and is totally different from the traditional way of politics.

New Delhi, December 28
After Delhi's spectacular innings, supporters of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) want Arvind Kejriwal, who today opened his account as the national Capital's seventh Chief Minister, to be the next Prime Minister. Young lot present at Ramlila Ground today look the emergence of the AAP and its ministers have bridged the gap between the politicians and the "aam aadmi".

It is the unconventional young leader and his party's cry for a change in politics and fight against corruption that has struck a perfect chord with masses both young and old - many of whom here are of the view that Kejriwal would be far better choice than BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.

Among the crowd who had come from across the country at the Ramlila Ground there were many who want to see Kejriwal and his party at the Centre. Pinning their hopes on him, there were people from across the sections and walks of life who urged him to field candidates from their states as well.

"We are headed towards a change that the country has been long waiting for. We want to see Kejriwal as the Prime Minister and the country is with him. Together we can," said Happy Sharma, a resident of Jammu and Kashmir, who was here to see his leader take the oath of Chief Minister.

A resident of Makrana, Rajasthan, said the AAP has showed a direction to people who are frustrated with the corrupt political system. "There is corruption everywhere. I remained unemployed for nearly six years and before going to abroad for work I had to pay Rs 70,000 as bribe for visa. The AAP has given a path to people and will finish corruption. It should contest from Rajasthan and uproot the corrupt forces."

Retired government official Nafe Singh of Sangwan said that the AAP would go a long way and even in Haryana the party should come in power and expose the corrupt political parties and ministers.

Similarly, Bihar's Rajesh Kumar Singh, a marketing professional, urges the AAP to take the message of honesty to his state and replace the current NItish Kumar-led JD(U) government. "I want AAP to come to Bihar and help people who are fed up of corruption. My old father who is paralysed and lives with my mother received an electricity bill of Rs 40,000 in three years recently even though there was limited consumption of power. We had been running around since then. We want to finish corruption and with this party we can do it."

New Delhi, December 28
It was a sunny, pleasant day in the national Capital today as the maximum temperature settled a notch below the season's average at 20° C. Similar weather is in store for the city on Sunday, said an official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

"The skies will be clear tomorrow and the afternoon will be sunny. There will be light fog in the morning," the official said. The maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to hover around 19° and 5° C.

Meanwhile, trains coming into Delhi continued to be affected due to dense fog in parts of north India, and as per the Northern Railway, 22 trains were running late.

Today, the minimum temperature settled two notches below the season's average at 4.2° C.