Why former minister Harsh Vardhan walked out of new Delhi LG's swearing-in ceremony

In a video shared by the Congress, the former Union health minister is seen complaining that seats were not reserved for parliamentarians.

High drama was witnessed at Thursday's swearing-in ceremony of Vinai Kumar Saxena, Delhi's new lieutenant governor, as former Union minister Dr Harsh Vardhan walked out of the event complaining that seats were not reserved for Members of Parliament (MPs).

Former Union minister Dr Harsh Vardhan (File Photo)

“Does Indian Godi Media have guts to upload this video? Looks like BJP MP Dr. Harshvardhan is very angry for not getting a seat in oath taking ceremony of lieutenant governor Vinai Kumar Saxena. This is what happens to ex. Ministers & senior leaders in BJP,” tweeted Rohan Gupta, the social media in-charge of the Congress.

Gupta also shared a clip of the former Union health minister leaving the venue; the oath-taking took place at Raj Niwas, the official residence of the lieutenant governor.

“What happened sir?” a male voice is heard asking the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, to which the latter responds in Hindi, “They didn't keep seats (reserved) for Parliament members.”

As expected, the video went viral on Twitter, and was widely shared on the social networking site.

Vinai Kumar Saxena was appointed the 22nd LG of Delhi on Monday, five days after his predecessor, Anil Baijal, put in papers citing ‘personal reasons.’

Dr Harsh Vardhan, who is an MP from Delhi's Chandni Chowk constituency, resigned in July last year from prime minister Narendra Modi's Cabinet. He was succeeded by the incumbent health minister, Mansukh Mandaviya.