New Delhi: In a significant political development, Vijender Gupta, a three-time MLA from Rohini constituency, was elected as the Speaker of Delhi’s eighth Assembly on Monday during the inaugural session of the newly-formed House.
The election represents a remarkable turnaround for the BJP veteran, who had previously experienced multiple removals from the Assembly during the Aam Aadmi Party’s decade-long governance.
Upon his election, Gupta expressed his deep appreciation to the Assembly members. “I express my heartfelt gratitude to all the honourable members of this great House for electing me to this position and entrusting me with the serious responsibility of running this House,” he stated. “This House is historic and this position is a symbol of democratic values and parliamentary traditions.” Gupta reflected on the historical significance of his role, noting, “The first elected Speaker in the parliamentary history of India, Vithalbhai Patel, had adorned this seat exactly 100 years ago. I pay my respectful obeisance to him.” He also highlighted the distinguished history of the Assembly. “It is our good fortune that today we are sitting in a House that was graced by our freedom fighters, including personalities such as Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Vithalbhai Patel, Madan Mohan Malviya, Sundar Singh Majithia, Motilal Nehru, Lala Lajpat Rai, and the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, who came here twice.” Gupta’s political journey spans back to 1997, when he began as a councillor. He has represented the Rohini constituency since 2015 and previously served as opposition leader in the Assembly between 2015 and 2020 and briefly again starting last August.
His tenure as opposition leader was marked by several confrontations. In June 2015, marshals removed him from the House when he demanded the presentation of the Fourth Delhi Finance Commission report. The following year, he mounted a table in protest. Most recently, in November 2024, he was again forcibly removed along with fellow BJP MLAs during a heated law and order debate. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Cabinet minister Ravinder Indraj proposed Gupta’s name for the Speaker position, with ministers Manjinder Singh Sirsa and Parvesh Verma seconding the motion. The election was conducted by Protem Speaker Arvinder Singh Lovely and passed by voice vote.
Following his election, Chief Minister Gupta congratulated the new Speaker: “Your experience and knowledge will be valuable in the assembly. We will have the opportunity to speak and express our thoughts. You have struggled to reach this position but I hope such struggles do not happen in the future and you lead the House efficiently.” Opposition Leader Atishi also offered congratulations: “I want to congratulate Vijender Gupta on behalf of all AAP MLAs. He served as the Leader of Opposition in the past two assemblies. He always raised the issues of the people with full strength.” Shortly after Gupta assumed his position, the session descended into disorder when Atishi accused the BJP of being “anti-Dalit and anti-Sikh,” claiming they had removed photographs of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar and Shaheed Bhagat Singh from the chief minister’s office. Amid the ensuing uproar, Speaker Gupta adjourned the House for 15 minutes.