NEW DELHI: On the first day of the two-day Delhi Assembly on Monday, 46 first-time legislators took oath and AAP MLA Ram Niwas Goel was unanimously elected Speaker of the House. Strangely, the first day session also witnessed several unconventional incidents.
In his speech, Goel thanked Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for giving him an opportunity and urged BJP leaders to become a medium of Central government to ensure proper functioning of the Delhi Government.
Another ruling party legislator, Bandana Kumari, was elected Deputy Speaker of the House.
Contrary to the protocol, when the Speaker gets up from his seat and requests any member to take down his chair, leader of the three-member BJP Opposition party, Vijender Gupta, did not relent and kept pleading with him till the proceedings for the day were over.
There were occasions when the visitors in the packed gallery responded with thunderous applause after some legislators were administered oath by the Speaker.
The visitors and MLAs clapped and shouted in unison “Vande Mataram” and “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” slogans throughout the day’s proceedings.
There was no clarity whether Gupta would demand the post of the Opposition leader. One could also watch a few MLAs crossing over the well in clear violation of the rules.
This will also be the first occasion when only three BJP MLAs will figure in a handful of the House committees.
The proceedings began with MLA Chaudhary Fateh Singh administering oath to the newly-elected legislators in the 70-member Assembly.