Delhi Assembly (File)
Day one of the Delhi Assembly’s Budget session saw protests by BJP MLAs over the presence of disqualified Najafgarh MLA and Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot. He, along with 19 other AAP MLAs, was disqualified on the orders of the President after the Election Commission ruled that they held offices of profit.
Citing rules, Assembly speaker Ram Niwas Goel said, “I would like to clarify that as per Section 43 (2) of the NCT Act, Gahlot can continue as minister for six months without being a member of the House. As far as his role is concerned, that too has been provided in Section 11, which states that he can participate in proceedings of the Assembly and committees…”
As the session began Friday morning, BJP MLAs O P Sharma, Manjinder Singh Sirsa and Jagdish Pradhan, along with Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta, said that Gahlot should not be allowed to attend the proceedings. They entered the well of the House and were marshalled out. Gupta said that while elected MLAs were being marshalled out, disqualified ones were being allowed to attend. Goel added that the BJP MLAs had demeaned the L-G’s office.
Govt committed to citizens’ welfare: L-G
In his 25-minute speech signalling the start of the budget session, L-G Anil Baijal said that the Delhi government was committed to the welfare of citizens. “Educational infrastructure has been strengthened by making about 6,400 additional classrooms functional in existing schools… CCTV cameras are already installed in most schools. It is proposed to strengthen CCTV surveillance system in all schools, including classrooms, with a facility for parents to watch the feed from the schools,” he said. Baijal also spoke about plans to deliver services such as ration to people under the doorstep delivery scheme.