New Delhi, Feb 23 (IANS) On the eve of the first session of the new Delhi Assembly, former Chief Minister and Kalkaji legislator Atishi was elected as the leader of the AAP legislature party by 22 MLAs and she was quick to credit National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal for her new leadership role.
The unanimous election of Atishi as leader of the AAP legislature party paves the way for her to serve as the Leader of the Opposition in the new 70-member Delhi Assembly and confront BJP’s woman Leader of the House and Chief Minister Rekha Gupta. The BJP has 48 and the AAP has 22 MLAs in the House.
Promising to play the role of constructive LoP, Atishi thanked Kejriwal for entrusting her with the responsibility of the leader of the AAP Legislature Party in the Assembly whose proceedings are set to be dominated by all-woman clashes between treasury and Opposition benches for the first time since 1993.
Soon after the AAP legislature party’s meeting, Atishi said in a post on X, “ I am thankful to AAP National Convenor @ArvindKejriwal ji and the Aam Aadmi Party Legislative Party for entrusting me with the responsibility of leader of the Aam Aadmi Party Legislative Party in Delhi Assembly.”
“The people of Delhi have entrusted us with the role of Opposition, and as a strong opposition, we will ensure that the BJP government fulfils all its promises made to the people of Delhi. During the elections, Modi Ji had guaranteed to give Rs 2,500/month to all the women of Delhi,” she said.
“We will definitely get this promise fulfilled by the BJP government. Aam Aadmi Party will raise the issues of the people in the House with full force. The fight for the rights of Delhi and Delhiites will continue,” she said.
Asked about the ruling BJP’s strategy to table the CAG reports in the Assembly, she said, “The CAG reports were sent to the Speaker by me when I was the Chief Minister. The BJP is trying to take false credit for the tabling of the CAG reports which are supposed to be brought before the House in the normal course.”
“The BJP is trying to create an illusion that it is bringing the CAG reports before the House. We want this narrative about the CAG report to be exposed before the public,” she said.
She defended the non-tabling of the CAG reports in the Assembly during the previous AAP government and said, “That is a routine procedure. CAG reports are sent to the Speaker at different times,” she said.
Atishi also promised AAP supporters in the city that she and her colleagues in the Assembly will fight against all attempts by the ruling BJP to discontinue welfare schemes, including Mohalla Clinics, launched by the Kejriwal government.
The proposal to elect Atishi as leader of AAP in the Assembly was moved by Sanjeev Jha and seconded and endorsed by Kuldeep Kumar and Jarnail Singh.
–IANS
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