Vijender Gupta Assumes Role as Speaker of Delhi Assembly; Opposition Calls for Adjournment
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Synopsis
On February 24, Vijender Gupta from the BJP was elected as the Speaker of the Delhi Assembly. His election was followed by a disruption caused by AAP legislators, leading to the adjournment of the House. Gupta's initial remarks addressed the opposition's behavior during the proceedings.
Key Takeaways
- Vijender Gupta was elected Speaker with unanimous support.
- Opposition disruptions led to the adjournment of the House.
- Gupta condemned the behavior of AAP legislators.
- The first session of the Assembly will last for three days.
- Rekha Gupta is the fourth woman to become Chief Minister of Delhi.
New Delhi, Feb 24 (NationPress) Vijender Gupta, a BJP representative from Rohini, was chosen as the Speaker of the Delhi Assembly on Monday following a nomination by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta. Immediately after his election, the House proceedings were suspended due to disturbances caused by the Opposition members from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
During the assembly session, overseen by pro-tem Speaker Arvinder Singh Lovely, Gupta was unanimously elected as the new Speaker.
Upon taking office, Speaker Gupta encountered disruptions from the AAP members who shouted slogans during the vote of thanks discussion for the new Speaker's election.
In his inaugural comments, he criticized Leader of Opposition Atishi for attempting to raise an issue without authorization, thereby interrupting the session.
“I wish to caution the Opposition against inciting chaos. They must allow the proceedings to unfold without interruption,” he remarked, showing his dissatisfaction with the AAP legislators' conduct.
Earlier, while congratulating Speaker Gupta, Atishi claimed that images of B.R. Ambedkar and Shaheed Bhagat Singh had been supposedly removed from the Chief Minister’s Office.
Her statements, made without the Chair's consent, incited loud protests from the Treasury Benches, leading the Speaker to reprimand the LoP for speaking out of line. When the AAP members persisted in disrupting, the Speaker decided to adjourn the House.
Previously, CM Gupta and her Council of Ministers were sworn in as members of the Legislative Assembly. The inaugural session commenced on Monday morning, with all newly-elected legislators taking their oaths.
The assembly consists of 48 BJP legislators and 22 from the AAP, totaling 70 members.
Alongside Delhi CM, BJP ministers including Parvesh Verma, Ashish Sood, Kapil Mishra, Ravinder Singh Indraj, Pankaj Kumar Singh, and Manjinder Singh Sirsa also took their oaths.
AAP MLAs, including the Leader of Opposition Atishi, also participated in the oath-taking during the assembly's opening session.
With this appointment, Rekha Gupta becomes the fourth woman to serve as Chief Minister of Delhi, following in the footsteps of Sheila Dikshit, Sushma Swaraj, and Atishi.
She is also the fourth BJP leader to occupy the top post in Delhi, succeeding Madan Lal Khurana, Sahib Singh Verma, and Sushma Swaraj.
The assembly's first session is scheduled to last for three days.
The proceedings commenced with BJP MLA Lovely being sworn in as the pro-tem Speaker, a temporary role responsible for managing House proceedings until a permanent Speaker is appointed. The oath for Lovely was administered by Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena at Raj Niwas.
