After sweeping to victory in the Punjab Assembly elections, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab CM-elect Bhagwant Mann held a mega roadshow in Amritsar on Sunday to celebrate the victory. They also visited the Golden Temple and Jallianwala Bagh. Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia also accompanied the leaders.
The victory roadshow took place on the Mall Road from Kachehri (Court) Road to 4S (Sant Singh Sukha Singh) Chowk after 2 pm. It passed through Heritage Street, where Sikh activists had been staging protests against the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC). The party leaders also visited Durgiana Temple and Ram Tirath Sthal. Several AAP supporters gathered and came out with national flags. Posters of Arvind Kejriwal and Mann were seen during the roadshow.
Mann, who won the Dhuri seat by over 58,000 votes, ordered the removal of security from 122 former ministers and MLAs, who were either from Congress or Akali Dal, claiming that police are needed to protect people, not VIPs.
“We’ve decreased security of 122 people and due to that 403 police personnel and 27 police vehicles have returned to the police stations. No government office will have the CM’s photo but will have pictures of Shaheed Bhagat Singh and Babasaheb Ambedkar,” Mann said.
Appreciating Mann’s efforts, Kejriwal said, “For the first time after so many years, Punjab has now got an honest Chief Minister. Now, all the money will be spent on Punjab and its people. We will fulfil all the guarantees and make a ‘Rangla’ and happy Punjab.”
Kejriwal thanked the people of Punjab for helping them win 92 seats, while Mann said that by breaking conventions, the Aam Aadmi Party will take new initiatives and develop Punjab. Mann said that he had full faith in Punjab that his government would be formed. Expressing his gratitude to the people, he said that those who rule the hearts form the real government.
During his address at the end of the roadshow, Kejriwal thanked the three-crore people of Punjab for the victory. He said that the whole world could not believe it. “The world believes that Punjabis always make a revolution, but such a big revolution? No one can believe that all the big-name politicians have lost. Sukhbir lost, Parkash Singh Badal lost, Captain lost, Sidhu lost,” he said.
“If any MLA of our party messes up, he will not be spared. Every guarantee will be fulfilled, just some may take time,” he added.
Mann will take oath as the Chief Minister of Punjab on Wednesday. Through a video released on Twitter, Mann announced his oath-taking ceremony date and invited the people of Punjab to attend his oath-taking ceremony at Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral place of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh.
“On March 16, in Bhagat Singh’s Khatkar Kalan, not just Bhagwant Mann will take the oath and become CM, along with me all three crore people of Punjab will also become CM. Together we will make the Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s Rangla Punjab,” wrote Mann.
He urged the people to carry yellow dupatta to Khatkar Kalan on that day. Mann will tender his resignation as a member of Lok Sabha on Monday.