Kejriwal holds first janta darbar after becoming CM

Ghaziabad, Feb 18: In his first public interaction after becoming the Delhi chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal today held a janta darbar at party's Kaushambi office in Ghaziabad where he heard greviances of people.

Unlike last time, when the darbar was marred with problems of mismanagement and over-crowding, this time it was a well-organised affair.

"Around 200 people turned up today and Arvind started meeting people at 10 AM in the morning, which ended at around 12.30 PM. After this, he left for the Delhi secretariat. People were allowed inside to meet the Delhi chief minister in a group of 4-5," said a party leader.

This was the first janta darbar after Kejriwal was sworn in on February 14. However, a party functionary termed it as a regular public interaction meeting.

"As a head of the Delhi government, Arvind Kejriwal would be holding Janta Darbar at the AAP's Kaushambi office on every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday- till the time he shifts to his official residence in New Delhi," added the party functionary.

"In order to streamline the public hearing and to address the issues accordingly, a specific day could be earmarked for different kinds of complaints such as Delhi Jal Board (DJB), labour, power and municipal bodies," said a party volunteer, adding that government representatives may also take complaints through SMS or helpline numbers.

During his earlier stint as the chief minister, Kejriwal, had held a similar darbar. However, it was marred by chaos as a large number of people had turned up.

The security personnel had to take Kejriwal away from darbar venue. "In forthcoming public meetings, turnout could be higher as more and more people would be aware about it," said a party volunteer To avoid mismanagement, a group of party volunteers would be assisting Kejriwal along with Ghaziabad police personnel.

District administration of Ghaziabad has granted permission to hold public meetings and traffic police has already put barricades outside the road of Kejriwal's residence to restrict entry of vehicles. It has also made proper provisions of deployment of security forces including women constables.

PTI