Delhi CM, 6 Ministers Take Oath in Assembly

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta along with her council of ministers took oath as members of the Legislative Assembly on Monday. The first session of the House commenced this morning and will see all newly-elected legislators taking oath.

Alongside Delhi CM, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ministers namely Parvesh Verma, Ashish Sood, Kapil Mishra, Ravinder Singh Indraj, Pankaj Kumar Singh and Manjinder Singh Sirsa also took the oath.

Aam Aadmi Party’s 22 MLAs, including Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Atishi, also took oath during the first session of the House.

Rekha Gupta had taken the oath as Delhi’s CM on Thursday at a grand ceremony at Ramlila Maidan. The swearing-in event, marking the BJP’s comeback in Delhi after 27 years, was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and several chief ministers from BJP-ruled states.

The event was not only a political milestone but also a show of strength for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

With her appointment, Rekha Gupta has become the fourth woman chief minister of Delhi, following in the footsteps of Sheila Dikshit, Sushma Swaraj, and Atishi.

She is also the fourth BJP leader to hold the top post in the capital, succeeding Madan Lal Khurana, Sahib Singh Verma, and Sushma Swaraj.

The first session of the Delhi Assembly is set to last for three days.

The proceedings began with BJP MLA Arvinder Singh Lovely taking oath as the pro-tem Speaker, a temporary position responsible for conducting House proceedings until a full-time Speaker is elected. Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Vinai Kumar Saxena administered the oath to Lovely at Raj Niwas.

The election for the Assembly Speaker is scheduled to take place at 2 pm.

According to the Assembly bulletin, L-G Saxena will address the House on February 25, after which the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reports will be tabled.

—IANS