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The day belonged to Sheila

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI DEC. 15. It was a day when everyone else faded into the background. The crowds at Raj Nivas were uncontrollable and for once senior AICC leaders were not in the limelight. Instead, it was Sheila Dikshit and her new "Team Delhi'' that was the centre of attraction.

The Raj Nivas lawns were flooded with supporters of the Chief Minister and those of her newly- sworn-in Cabinet colleagues. The front rows were occupied by the family members of the new Ministers who had had come to witness the historic occasion. However, the arrangements made by the General Administration Department (GAD) fell far short of expectations. Apparently little thought had gone into the seating arrangements with even the VVIPs desperately scouting for chairs. In fact, it seemed that the GAD had misread the situation and did not expect such a large turnout of VVIPs.

All said and done, the day clearly belonged to Ms. Dikshit. The joy was quite evident as she waved and smiled to acknowledge the support from the crowds that broke into a loud applause whenever a Minister took oath.

After the oath ceremony, all hell broke loose and the crowds became almost uncontrollable. A security ring was thrown around the Chief Minister as supporters and well wishes tried to reach out to congratulate her personally.

Realising that things were getting out of hand, the security personnel formed a two-tier security around her and led her to the lawns where tea had been laid out for the VVIPs. However, the over-enthusiastic crowds continued to pour into the VVIP area to greet Ms. Dikshit.

The Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president, Chaudhary Prem Singh, along with former Speaker, Subhash Chopra, and the former Transport Minister, Pervez Hashmi, did not stay for tea and made a quiet exit after the ceremony.

Interestingly, the senior AICC leaders, Ahmed Patel, Natwar Singh, M.L. Fotedar and Anil Shastri, stood at a distance and watched the crowds surrounded Ms. Dikshit and her Ministers.

The Deputy Speaker, Lok Sabha, P.M.Sayeed, also did not stay for long. For once, the focus was solely on "Team Delhi''. The Cabinet Ministers went about giving interviews to television channels and media persons about how they intend to work during their tenure in office. "I will work with a development- oriented agenda in mind. Whatever responsibility is entrusted to me, I will discharge it to the best of my ability. I will also have the benefit of having the guidance of the Chief Minister in running my day to day affairs,'' remarked a confident Mr. Arvinder Singh Lovely surrounded by his wife, Sonia, and two sons.

On the other hand, Mr. Mangat Ram Singhal said he was indebted to both the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi and Ms. Dikshit for having given him an opportunity to work in the Government. Shortly afterwards, Ms. Dikshit along with her new Ministers left for a Cabinet meeting.

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