NEW DELHI: The first session of the newly-formed Assembly started on a tumultuous note on Monday, as the Opposition and the ruling party exchanged heated remarks over the removal of portraits of Bhagat Singh and B R Ambedkar from the Chief Minister’s Office, prompting a brief adjournment.
The Opposition party, AAP, accused the BJP of displaying an “anti-Dalit” mindset by removing the portraits, while the ruling party denied any such action.
Earlier in the day, L-G VK Saxena administered the oath to Arvinder Singh Lovely as the pro-tem Speaker, who then administered the oath to the newly-elected MLAs. While Karawal Nagar MLA Kapil Mishra (BJP) took oath in Sanskrit, Sanjeev Jha (AAP) in Maithili, and Manjinder Singh Sirsa (BJP) in Punjabi. This was followed by the election of the Speaker.
As the House met in the morning, AAP MLAs, led by LoP Atishi, raised slogans demanding the immediate reinstatement of the portraits. Speaker Vijender Gupta criticised their behavior, saying, “The opposition is behaving irresponsibly. I urge opposition members to take their seats and allow the House to function.”
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva clarified that the portraits of the revered leaders continue to be displayed in the CM’s and other offices.
AAP and the BJP also argued over the implementation of the Mahila Samridhi Yojana.