Delhi’s lawmakers take oath, Bidhuri new leader of Oppn
NEWDELHI: The national capital’s new assembly convened for the first time on Monday, with 69 of the 70 legislators taking oath as members of the House and officially electing the Speaker as well as the leader of Opposition.
Ram Niwas Goel, the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) MLA from Shahdara, was chosen as the Speaker for the second time in a row, while the Bharatiya Janata Party – which won eight seats – chose Badarpur MLA Ramvir Singh Bidhuri as the leader of Opposition. The opposition leader in the previous assembly was Vijender Gupta.
The oath was administered to all the legislators by Matia Mahal MLA Shoaib Iqbal, who was appointed the pro-tem speaker by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal. Iqbal, a six-time MLA from the seat who joined the AAP from the Congress ahead of the polls, took his oath in the L-G’s office at 9:30 am, before the Assembly session began at 11 am.
Some accompanied by their family members, several legislators took their oath of office and secrecy in their mother tongue.
“In the last five years we saw that Ram Niwas ji was like the Bhishma Pitamah of the House. He also did not give any opportunity to the opposition to complain against him,” said chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.
To this, Goel responded by saying that a new story of development will be written in Delhi under Kejriwal’s leadership. “Under your leadership, the Delhi government will work towards developing all the Delhi constituencies on a faster pace. As the speaker, I intend to open a dedicated TV channel for the Delhi assembly and also make it paperless,” he said.
On being appointed as the opposition leader, BJP’s Bidhuri said: “My role as the leader of opposition will be to keep a check on the Kejriwal government. And also to ensure that the promises made by him to the people should be fulfilled. Otherwise, we will protest, both inside and outside the Assembly.” On Tuesday, the L-G will address the House.
AAP MLAs from Greater Kailash and Uttam Nagar, Saurabh Bharadwaj and Naresh Balyan, referred to the Hindu god Hanuman, prompting several legislators in the House to chant ‘Jai Hanuman’ while thumping their desks.
Legislators Sanjeev Jha and Ritu Raj Govind, who came dressed in traditional Bihari attire, took oath in Maithili.
Tilak Nagar MLA Jarnail Singh took his oath in Punjabi while Wazirpur MLA Rajesh Gupta took oath in the name of his mother and father.
Out of the 70 MLAs, only one -- AAP’s Janakpuri MLA Rajesh Rishi -- was not present to take his oath. Officials in the Delhi Assembly said Rishi had informed the Vidhan Sabha secretariat about his leave citing an unavoidable engagement. He will be sworn in on Tuesday.
Chief minister Kejriwal’s party routed the BJP for the second time in a row, though the opposition party managed to pick up four more constituencies than it had the last time.
The three-day assembly session that started Monday is being held after a gap of more than two-and-a-half months.
The House had last met on December 3 in 2019. Elections for this assembly were held on February 8 and results were declared on February 11.
There was also some show of bonhomie among legislators. BJP’s leader of opposition Bidhuri hugged Iqbal after taking oath. The two were first elected to the Delhi assembly in 1993.
Prominent AAP faces, Raghav Chadha, Atishi and Dilip Pandey were among the first-time MLAs who took oath.
Following the oath ceremony, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia proposed Goel’s name for Speaker. The proposal was supported by MLAs Kuldeep Kumar, Satyendar Jain, Praveen Kumar, Dinesh Mohania, SK Bagga, Vishesh Ravi and Raghav Chaddha, after which the motion was passed by voice vote.
THE HOUSE HAD LAST MET ON DECEMBER 3 IN 2019. ELECTIONS FOR THIS ASSEMBLY WERE HELD ON FEBRUARY 8 AND RESULTS WERE DECLARED ON FEBRUARY 11.