Vijender is Speaker as assembly begins work

The eighth Delhi assembly began with oath-taking, a new speaker elected, and a heated debate over removed portraits of national icons igniting tensions.

The first day of the eighth Delhi assembly kicked off on Monday with ceremonial oath-taking by all 70 newly elected MLAs and the election of three-time MLA Vijender Gupta as speaker, but an uproar over allegations that portraits of national icons were removed from the chief minister’s office triggered a bitter war of words that set the tone for the Capital’s new political landscape.

Vijender is Speaker as assembly begins work

The real flashpoint is expected on Tuesday when the BJP government tables 14 pending Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) reports that the party says allegedly details financial irregularities during AAP’s tenure.

Chief minister Rekha Gupta was the first to take her oath, followed by her six cabinet ministers Parvesh Verma, Ashish Sood, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Kapil Mishra, Pankaj Singh and Ravinder Indraj Singh.

While most ministers opted for Hindi, environment minister Sirsa took his oath in Punjabi, and tourism minister Mishra chose Sanskrit.

The ceremony, presided over by pro-tem Speaker Arvinder Singh Lovely, saw MLAs pledging in six different languages - Hindi, English, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Urdu, and Maithili.

The session, in which the BJP sits in the treasury benches for the first time in 27 years, was stark in how seating arrangements changed. AAP leaders who for a decade sat to the right of the speaker’s chair switched sides with their BJP counterparts. And some former AAP legislators, including Kailash Gahlot and Kartar Singh Tanwar, were now seated with their new BJP colleagues.

After the lunch break, BJP’s Vijender Gupta from the Rohini constituency was elected unopposed as speaker.

Gupta, 62, is a third time MLA from Rohini, and has served as the leader of opposition between 2015 to 2020, and between June 2024 to 2025. He was among the only three MLAs from the BJP who were elected in 2015. In the 2025 elections, Gupta defeated his AAP rival by over 37,000 votes.

“Power keeps changing, but the dignity, values and traditions of the House remain eternal. I assure you that I will perform my duties as Speaker with complete honesty,” Gupta said after being elected as the Speaker.

However, proceedings were soon derailed when Leader of Opposition Atishi claimed that portraits of BR Ambedkar and freedom fighter Bhagat Singh were removed from the CM’s office, calling it “anti-Dalit and anti-Sikh mentality” of the BJP. The accusation led to an uproar that resulted in the House being adjourned for 15 minutes.

The new Speaker Gupta condemned the disruption: “It was a courtesy speech and you should have respected it and should not have made it into a political platform. I strongly condemn the remarks of Atishi for disturbing the House without any reasons. You will get ample time to raise issues, but the irresponsible behaviour of the Opposition will not be tolerated.”

CM Rekha Gupta refuted the allegations, saying they were meant to deflect attention from AAP’s record. “This is their tactics to hide their corruption and wrongdoings behind Babasahab Ambedkar and Shaheed Bhagat Singh,” she told reporters. “You are inside this chamber, should the pictures of the head of the government not be put up? Should the photo of the President of the country not be put up? Should the photo of Father of the Nation Gandhi ji not be put up?”

She added that the photos of Dr Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh were not removed,only repositioned.

Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva demanded an apology from Atishi, saying, “The pictures of revered Mahatma Gandhi, Baba Saheb Ambedkar, Bhagat Singh, the President, and the Prime Minister continue to be displayed in the chief minister’s and all ministers’ offices.” He suggested there were political motivations behind the claims: “AAP faced defeat in Sikh-majority areas and Dalit-populated assembly constituencies during the recently concluded elections. In response to this, the agitated Atishi Marlena tried to spread falsehood from the assembly premises.”

Before the disruption, AAP MLAs met the CM in her office, demanding the implementation of BJP’s campaign promise to provide ₹2,500 monthly allowance to Delhi women. “BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had guaranteed in their first cabinet meeting that a scheme providing ₹2,500 per month to women would be passed. However, despite the BJP government’s first cabinet meeting taking place on February 20, the scheme was not approved,” Atishi said.

The BJP government has maintained that the allowance remains a priority, with officials already tasked with preparing implementation guidelines.

Separately, BJP minister Parvesh Verma told reporters, “We are going to take you to show you the Sheesh Mahal,” referring to former CM Arvind Kejriwal’s official residence that became controversial during the election campaign for alleged luxurious renovations. Though media gathered and security was enhanced at the Civil Lines bungalow, Verma did not appear, with his office later confirming he would not be visiting the spot on Monday.

Tuesday’s session, scheduled to begin at 11am, will feature lieutenant governor VK Saxena’s address to the House, followed by the tabling of 14 pending CAG reports spanning fiscal years 2017-18 to 2021-22.

These reports, which BJP leaders have claimed will expose financial irregularities during AAP’s tenure, cover critical areas including vehicular pollution prevention, child welfare, liquor regulation, and health infrastructure.

The election of the deputy Speaker is scheduled for February 27, the final day of the current session.