Goel elected Speaker of Assembly

AAP legislator from Shalimar Bagh Bandana Kumari elected Deputy Speaker

AAP legislator Ram Niwas Goel was on Monday elected the Speaker of the Delhi Assembly amid allegations by the Opposition members from the BJP that they were “insulted” and not allowed to raise the issue of ban on the media in the secretariat.

AAP legislator from Shalimar Bagh Bandana Kumari, 41, was elected the Deputy Speaker of the 70-member House which has 67 AAP legislators.

The day’s proceedings began with Pro-tem Speaker Fateh Singh administering the oath of office and secrecy to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his cabinet ministers and the other MLAs, including the three BJP legislators.

The new speaker’s maiden address in Hindi on the first day of the two-day session, caused a flutter-of-sorts among the three BJP opposition legislators as the Speaker used words like “our popular leader Arvind Kejriwal”.

The Speaker’s speech seemed to carry political overtones as he praised Kejriwal – without referring to him as the Leader of the House –  and vowed to “work closely with him”.

Rohini MLA and BJP leader Vijender Gupta told Deccan Herald, after the proceedings, that there was a political tone in the Speaker’s speech which could  have been avoided.

“We may raise the issue at an appropriate time,” he said.  
In his congratulatory speech on Goel’s election as Speaker, BJP leader Gupta tried to raise the issue of the ban on media’s entry into the Delhi Secretariat but the Speaker did not allow him to speak.
The treasury benches, with a little help from a noisy group of supporters in the visitors’ gallery, drowned Gupta’s voice.

“I gave you time to speak on the election of the Speaker and not this, ” Goel  said.
As a protest, Gupta quietly kept standing close to his seat for almost 10 minutes while the proceedings continued. 

“The AAP legislators showed their arrogance. The opposition was insulted by not letting it raise its concern. I had risen to speak after seeking permission from the Chair but was not allowed to complete,” Gupta said, outside the House.

Later speaking to reporters, Goel said Gupta was trying to take “political advantage” by twisting the case.

While Kejriwal and his cabinet members took oath in Hindi, there were others who preferred English, Punjabi, Urdu and regional languages like Maithili. Laxmi Nagar legislator from Nitin Tyagi stood out with his choice of taking oath in Sanskrit.

The visitor’s gallery on the first floor of the horseshoe-shaped House and the Lieutenant Governor’s gallery on the left of the Chair were packed with supporters and family members of the AAP legislators.

Many of the AAP’s 46 first-time legislators came in traditional dresses, including headgears. Unlike the 2013 elections, the AAP legislators avoided driving into the Assembly’s forecourt in e-rickshaws or autorickshaws. 

Kejriwal and his cabinet members drove to the Assembly in their SUVs – a marked difference from the 2013 inaugural session when the chief minister had taken a Metro to reach the Assembly from his House in Kaushambi in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh.

BJP leader Gupta occupied the official seat of the leader of the Opposition during the proceedings but  it was not clear whether the Speaker will formally offer the post of the Leader of Opposition to the saffron party. The BJP does not even have the minimum 10 legislators needed to stake a claim for the post.

The motion to elect 67-year-old Goel, a legislator from Shahdara, as the Speaker was moved by Finance Minister Manish Sisodia and passed by a voice vote.