‘Delhi has to dream bigger… for the first time, Centre, State and MCD have a common goal'

Indian Express

8 hours ago

You have said there was no phone call, no message, just an announcement when you became chief minister. When that happened, did you remember the girl who used to take the University Special to Daulat Ram College?
I did. I wondered how far I have come in this journey, how I stand here today, with such a huge responsibility — being accountable for an entire city. I never imagined this.
The BJP has returned to Delhi after 27 years and that burden is yours. Back in 2013, this city gave a chance to a new party. Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) came out of a movement, they were outsiders to the political system. You were among those who flocked to Ramlila Maidan during the Anna movement.
It was a moment when people felt that maybe a new dawn was coming. During the 15 years when the Congress was in power, corruption scandals kept surfacing. People were looking for honesty, something that would change the state and the direction of Delhi for good. And with that hope, thousands of young people went there. Every single person in Delhi felt they should join in. But what we didn't realise was that behind that movement, Delhi's future was being mis-shaped — one that the people of Delhi would have to live with.
Like the mandate that brought Kejriwal to power, do you think the 2025 mandate was also focused on him? Back then, people chose him, now they rejected him. Will you have to work harder to make this mandate your own?
People realised that Delhi won't grow until there's a double-engine government. And now, after four months, I think people are starting to feel that their choice was for Delhi's good.
People say you're new but you are actually a seasoned politician. You started in student politics, served as a councillor three times, became an MLA and now you are CM. For a woman who doesn't come from a political family, this journey is a tough one. Where did you find the support and strength?
When you start moving forward on your own, you don't owe anything to anyone. You keep playing your part. The good thing is, nowadays, there are political parties that give a chance to young people without any political background. No political connections, no father, no mother, no grandmother involved. I was probably the first girl from the Agarwal community to become DUSU (Delhi University Students Union) president. Within the party, I worked wherever I could — youth wing, women's front. And I believe in this strong system within the BJP. The idea is that women should move forward and that youth should be taken along. Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj thought in the same way. Today, Modiji has shaped this into a system where there's reservation in the party. Now, you're getting reservation in the legislatures too. What could be better than half the country's population getting a chance to participate in decision-making. This became possible under Modiji's leadership and I've benefited from it.
You wrote a poem about Operation Sindoor. Do you write poetry, or was it just that one time?
I don't get much time but I have enjoyed reading and reciting poetry since my university days. In society, everyone has a role. It is said: 'Saath chalne ka irada jab jawaan ho jaega, aadmi sang aadmi mil kaarwaan ho jaega, tu kisi ke paanv ke neeche toh rakh thodi zameen, tu bhi nazron mein sabhi ke aasmaan ho jaega.' Delhi has given me such an opportunity that whatever I do for this city, it won't be enough. But if I manage to ease even a little bit of its troubles, my time as the CM will be successful.
People from all over the country come to Delhi, carrying dreams. Whom does Delhi belong to? Who is the true Delhiwala?
I believe Delhi is a mini India. People come here from all over the country — from Jammu and Kashmir to Kanyakumari, from Gujarat to Assam and Manipur. Some came 30 years ago, some 50 years ago, some just 10 years ago. That's why, even though Delhi ranks fourth from the bottom in terms of area, among states, when it comes to population, it's higher than many larger states. I believe Delhi belongs to all of us. Delhi is for the large-hearted and whatever rights I have over Delhi, people who have come from different states to live and work here, have the same rights.
The AAP created the Delhi model of governance which had some stated priorities: mohalla clinics, government schools, subsidised water and electricity, and free bus rides for women. What kind of a model do you have?
The previous government split Delhi into two parts. First are taxpayers, who fund the state but no one pays attention to them. Today, there are no jobs, no work in Delhi. Everyone is rushing towards Gurgaon, Faridabad, Noida. The other part are the people you tempted by saying, 'I will give you 200 units of electricity free if you vote for me.' They used this formula in a way that there was no need to develop Delhi. You just lure people with something free and say, 'I gave this to you,' and wash your hands off your responsibility. But slowly, people started realising that to live and progress in a city, you need more than that.
Even today, Delhi is getting 40 per cent of its water from taps and 60 per cent from tankers. There are no sewer lines in the 1,731 unauthorised colonies. Villages don't have sewer lines either. If the hospitals still have such poor infrastructure that for every 1,000 people we can provide only 0.42 beds, then this is hardly infrastructure. Is this the Delhi we dreamt of? It's been 11 years now. Before that, the Congress was in power. But the people of Delhi haven't got what they deserve. None of the facilities that the country's capital should have exist here. Delhi has become so poor (in thought) that the only complaint people have is that the pothole outside their house is getting bigger or the sewer is not backing up. Delhi has to dream bigger.
On one hand, we compare Delhi to London or Paris and on the other, large numbers are hanging on precariously in slums. While covering the election, people expressed the fear that if the BJP came to power, there would be demolitions. What would you say to them?
People have stopped calling things right or wrong. This city has reached a point where if you say anything about building a house on the railway tracks, it's wrong. If you ask people to follow court orders, then you are wrong.
If there's a court order to clean the drain that caused a flood in Delhi and for that if the government clears the slums in the area, then it is wrong. Even if the government has already given those slum dwellers proper houses worth Rs 35 lakh, yet the slum dwellers don't leave their homes. There are 675 clusters in Delhi today and lakhs of houses. None of these houses were given to a single person by either the Congress or AAP. They always asked more people to settle down, even if that meant the infrastructure of the city crumbled. Even if there isn't a sewer line or the Yamuna gets dirtier or there are mountains of garbage, they weren't concerned about how the city would run. Today, the government is giving the poor houses with 200 units of electricity, 20,000 litres of water, pension, Ayushman Yojana benefits, and alongside that, building flyovers, making roads, setting up schools and hospitals.
The BJP has been pushing for statehood for decades. But it has gone silent on this demand since 2014. Recently it brought in a Bill that puts all services under the L-G. This goes against the idea of full statehood.
Previous governments only focused on fighting — with the L-G, the PM, the administration, the courts, the police. But they can actually work together. Central and state governments can team up and get things done. For the first time, there's a positive vibe where the Centre, State and municipal corporation are working together with a common goal. So, I don't think there's a question anymore about whether we need statehood. Just the day before yesterday, the police's role in licensing from Delhi has been removed. Who removed it? The Central government. Who benefited? The traders in Delhi. The double and triple windows they had to go through have been removed. In many previous schemes, the Centre has been providing benefits to Delhi government. But the previous governments would just complain. They were only experts at election politics.
Statehood is important to tackle the multiplicity of agencies that causes confusion. And for clear accountability. If you've been elected, you should be held accountable, the issue shouldn't be passed up to the prime minister.
Being a state does give you a lot of benefits. But it's also true that Delhi is the capital of India. If the Central government is supporting me and all the agencies are working with me, then right now, my only aim is Delhi's development.
How is your relationship with the L-G? His public visibility has dropped sharply.
Previous governments used to constantly bring up his name. Then they'd show how helpless they were. Today, there's no conflict, but the role of an L-G is being carried out. I have never seen an L-G like this one, who
actually visits areas, listens to people, helps them and has done a lot for Delhi.
The BJP scored a decisive victory in Delhi but the AAP also has a substantive vote share. How do you see the Opposition? Do you believe, like the Modi government, that India should be Opposition-mukt?
It's not like I'm saying there should be no Opposition. In fact, I say that, today, the AAP has truly found its role. Actually, even when they were running the government, they were acting like the Opposition. They did the same thing — sitting on protests. The CM was also sitting on protest. But I have a lot of respect for them. They keep reminding me about what I need to do. Like if Atishiji says that madam didn't even tweet today, I tweet.
The BJP's central leadership casts such a long shadow that it feels like the Delhi BJP can't really develop strong leadership. After Sahib Singh Verma and Madan Lal Khurana, no big names have emerged. Why is that?
Delhi is lucky to have produced so many big names. Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Madan Lal Khurana, Vijay Kumar Malhotra, and many others. In politics, it's always a struggle — you're up sometimes, down at other times. But when you get the chance to do a lot of work and hold onto it, that's when things start moving forward.
The BJP used to accuse Kejriwal of handing out freebies. But now BJP is expanding those same freebies.
Right after taking charge, we launched the Ayushman scheme, which hadn't been given to Delhi residents for years. After that, for senior citizens over 60, we introduced the Vaya Vandana Yojana, Arogya Mandir. We are just four months old and yet we've fulfilled every promise we made. We can't do any work without checking how it will be implemented, who the beneficiaries will be and every identified beneficiary should actually get the benefit — not as a one-time thing, but continuously. For our promise of giving Rs 2,500 a month to women, we've allocated a budget of Rs 5,100 crore. In Delhi, no new ration cards have been issued in the last 12 to 14 years. And all the schemes end up benefiting only those who have ration cards. Our intention is to implement this scheme in a foolproof way, so that even those who don't have a ration card right now can be included.
During the election, you talked about the Yamuna. Where does it stand in your priorities?
The Yamuna is my top priority. Previous governments only talked. But how would the stretch of the Yamuna that flows through Delhi ever get cleaned? No one ever did any research. This stretch is so polluted because 200 drains flow into the Yamuna without any desilting or going through STPs (Sewage Treatment Plant). Factory wastewater and sewage are flowing directly into the river. All those drains need to be tapped and STPs have to be built there. Colonies need proper sewer lines which in turn must be connected to STPs. Decentralised treatment is needed. We need to fix the water's BOD level. The river's e-flow has to be increased. The first step has been taken. The day Delhi gets a clean Yamuna, the city will see a change.
In slums and in many places in Delhi, water isn't safe to drink and even people who earn very little must buy bottled water. What are you doing about this?
The first thing Delhi needs is clean drinking water, straight from the tap. The water we get now from the source should reach the people. The water we get today is from the Yamuna from Haryana but it leaks out because the canals aren't lined properly. About 30 per cent leaks, some gets stolen, some evaporates. Delhi needs a proper water pipeline network. We hired experts and created a plan based on priorities because you can't lay pipelines across the entire city in one year. You need a budget and infrastructure must be built phase-wise. Until every home in the city gets water, we won't be able to sleep peacefully.
And air pollution?
Sometimes I feel the homework I've done in the last four months, Kejriwal did not do even in 11 years. Two main components are causing air pollution, one of which is vehicular pollution. We decided to make the public transportation system electric. So far we've put 950 electric buses on Delhi's roads, and by the end of this year, we'll have about 2,000. To make all the buses in Delhi electric, we'll need another year and a half. The other issue is dust particles. For that, we will put water sprinklers on high-rise buildings, and spray water on the roads, not just during the two months of winter — like the previous governments — but through the year, except during the rainy season.