First session of new Delhi Assembly to begin Monday; CAG reports to be tabled
New Delhi: The first session of the eighth legislative assembly of Delhi will begin on Monday with newly elected members taking oath and Chief Minister Rekha Gupta moving a motion for BJP MLA Vijender Gupta to be chosen as the Speaker of the House. A meeting of the ruling BJP MLAs will be held at the party's Delhi unit office on Sunday afternoon in which they will be guided about conduct of the House and other procedures, party leaders said.
The three-day session will see the election of the House speaker and deputy speaker as well as the tabling of the 14 pending CAG reports on the performance of the previous AAP government. BJP leaders said the party has nominated senior MLAs Vijender Gupta and Mohan Singh Bisht for the election of the speaker and deputy speaker, respectively. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta will move the motion for Gupta to be chosen as speaker and minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa will second it on February 24, said Assembly's list of business. Both Gupta and Bisht would get elected to the posts as the BJP has 48 MLAs in the 70-member Assembly. The AAP, which has 22 MLAs, is yet to name a leader of opposition although former chief minister Atishi and the party's Delhi unit convener Gopal Rai are said to be frontrunners for the post.
The second day of the session on February 25 will be devoted to Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena's address to the House and the tabling of the 14 CAG reports. It will be followed by a discussion on the LG's address. The discussion on the motion of thanks will continue on the third day -- February 27. The election of deputy speaker will be held the same day, the bulletin said.
The Assembly secretariat on Friday notified an order of the LG, appointing BJP MLA Arvinder Singh Lovely as the pro-tem speaker. The speaker's post will fall vacant immediately before the commencement of the first meeting of the newly constituted Assembly while the post of deputy speaker is already vacant. The pro-tem speaker will perform the duties of the Office of the Speaker from the start of the House meeting until a new speaker is elected. The new members of the House will take oath before the pro-tem speaker. Each member of the House has been provisionally allotted a seat under Rule 5 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Assembly, said the bulletin. A member who is unable to make and subscribe oath or affirmation on February 24, may do so on any subsequent sitting of the Assembly after giving advance information to the House secretary, it said.
