NEW DELHI: The first session of the newly constituted Delhi assembly began on Monday, with MLAs taking their oaths in six languages, including Hindi, English, Sanskrit, Urdu, Maithili and Punjabi, highlighting the linguistic diversity of the legislature.
The session also marked the BJP’s return to power after 27 years.
BJP MLA Arvinder Singh Lovely was sworn in as the pro-tem Speaker of the eighth assembly, with L-G VK Saxena administering the oath at Raj Niwas before the session commenced.
As the senior-most legislator, Lovely oversaw the swearing-in of all newly elected MLAs. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta was the first to take the oath, followed by her six Cabinet ministers.
Delhi PWD Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma and Home Minister Ashish Sood were next in line.
Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa took his oath in Punjabi, while Law and Justice Minister Kapil Mishra chose Sanskrit. Several other MLAs took their oaths in different languages. Karnail Singh swore in Punjabi, while Pradyumn Rajput and Neelam Pahalwan opted for Sanskrit.
BJP’s Tarvinder Marwah chanted religious slogans after reading the printed text, which led to an objection from the Speaker, who reminded him that it was not a Gurudwara.Amanatullah Khan (Urdu), Chandan Chaudhary (Maithili), Ajay Dutt (English), and Gajendra Yadav (Sanskrit) also took their oaths, with the Speaker instructing members to follow the official oath format. Other MLAs who took their oaths in Sanskrit included Sanjay Goel, Jitendra Mahajan, Ajay Mahawar, and BJP’s Karnail Singh.
Chaudhary Zubair and Amanatullah Khan chose Urdu. Leader of Opposition Atishi, also took the oath. Due to difficulty in walking, Gopal Rai took the oath from his seat, assisted by Atishi. Mohan Singh Bisht was the last to be sworn in, and Anil Jha took his oath in Maithili.