President Ram Nath Kovind Appoints Arvind Kejriwal As Delhi CM; 6 Ministers To Take Oath

The other six ministers who will take oath along with Arvind Kejriwal on February 16 are: Manish Sisodia, Satyender Jain, Gopal Rai, Kailash Gehlot, Imran Hussain and Rajendra Gautam.

Arvind Kejriwal will take oath as Delhi chief minister along with his cabinet at 10 am on Sunday. (Getty Image)

New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday official appointed Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal as Chief Minister of National Capital Territory of Delhi. The development comes days after his party bagged 62 of the 70 seats in the recent Delhi Assembly elections. According to an official notification, the President has also appointed six MLAs as ministers of the Delhi government following the advice of the chief minister. The six ministers who will take oath along with Kejriwal on February 16 are: Manish Sisodia, Satyender Jain, Gopal Rai, Kailash Gehlot, Imran Hussain and Rajendra Gautam. "The President has been pleased to appoint Shri Arvind Kejriwal to be the Chief Minister, National Capital Territory of Delhi with effect from the date he is sworn in," official notification from President's office read. A separate notification said the President has also accepted the resignation of Kejriwal as chief minister of the NCT of Delhi along with his council of ministers with immediate effect. He will, however, continue to act as the chief Minister till the new chief minister is sworn in, it said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been invited by Chief Minister-elect Arvind Kejriwal for his swearing-in ceremony at the Ramlila Maidan on February 16. However, sources have told ABP News that PM Modi is unlikely to attend the ceremony as he has to attend pre-scheduled public programmes in his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi on the same day. ALSO WATCH | Arvind Kejriwal Invites PM Narendra Modi For Swearing-In Ceremony Speaking about the oath ceremony of Kejriwal, MLA-elect Atishi said the party is offering open invitation to the public. "For us, the people of Delhi are most important. We are giving an open invitation to the people of Delhi." All seven Delhi MPs from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the eight newly-elected M LAs have also been invited for the oath-taking ceremony. All municipal councillors have also been invited. No chief minister or political leader from other states will be part of the event as it will be a "Delhi-specific" ceremony, an AAP leader told news agency PTI. Kejriwal, through front-page advertisements in newspapers, has urged Delhiites to attend the ceremony as he is set to become the chief minister of Delhi for the third consecutive term. He will take oath as Delhi chief minister along with his cabinet at 10 am on Sunday for which preparations are afoot at the historic Ramlila Maidan. ALSO WATCH | Manoj Tiwari's First Interview After Losing Delhi Elections, Says I Will Return Stronger The police too have made elaborate security arrangements for the event. An official said nearly 3,000 security personnel will deployed for the event. CCTV cameras will be fitted at and outside the venue. Ramlila Maidan, which served as the battleground for the 51-year-old bureaucrat-turned-politician during the Anna Hazare-led India Against Corruption movement, is getting decked up and workers are busy making arrangements. In 2015 too, Kejriwal's oath-taking ceremony took place at the Ramlila Maidan. It was held on February 14, coinciding with Valentine's Day. In 2013 after his party's first poll victory, the swearing-in ceremony was again held at the same venue. (With inputs from PTI)