At Delhi’s famous Ramlila Maidan, Rekha Gupta will be sworn in as the city’s next chief minister, while Vijender Gupta will be sworn in as speaker.
New Delhi: Ten years ago, in the midst of intense outrage over reportedly disparaging statements made by a party colleague, OP Sharma, against then-AAP MLA Alka Lamba, BJP’s Vijender Gupta was marshalled—well, thrown—out of the Delhi Assembly.
Amazing images taken from within the Assembly showed Mr. Gupta, wearing a spotless white kurta-pyjama set, being hoisted by half a dozen marshals while he twisted and shouted. The BJP leader resisted and fought all the way out the door, even clinging to the furniture.
Following the BJP’s nearly improbable victory in the 2025 Delhi election, Mr. Gupta is back in his role as Speaker of the same Assembly today. He kept his position in Rohini, which he has occupied since 2015.
“I appreciate the party entrusting me with this duty, which is to serve as Speaker of the Delhi Assembly. I’ll carry out my obligation. He told news agency PTI, “I hope we have constructive conversations in the House.”
VIDEO | Delhi: BJP leader Vijender Gupta (@Gupta_vijender) says, “I am thankful to the party for giving me the responsibility of Speaker of Delhi Assembly. I will fulfill my responsibility… I hope we will have healthy discussions in the House.”
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 20, 2025
(Full video available on PTI… pic.twitter.com/8SsH8GEmNT
He said the investigations would “expose how the AAP misled the people of Delhi with false promises while engaging in financial irregularities amounting to crores” . The AAP was then criticized by Mr. Gupta, who claimed that the party had thwarted BJP MLAs’ attempts to table these CAG reports.
Previously, Mr. Gupta served as the Leader of the Opposition.
According to prior sources, he was even considered for the position of Chief Minister, but it ultimately went to Rekha Gupta, a first-time Shalimar Bagh MLA who was elected as the fourth BJP Chief Minister of Delhi and the second female member of the party.
What Happened In 2015?
As is so common in Indian state assemblies and the parliament, there was mayhem on November 30, 2015, as the AAP and BJP MLAs sparred over the claimed disparaging remarks.
The Speaker at the time, Ram Niwas Goel, requested that Vijender Gupta vacate the House until 4 p.m.
Additionally, the marshals were brought in when he refused to move. The personnel removed Mr. Gupta after he fought attempts to remove him and attempted to hang onto the bench.
Gupta said that three BJP lawmakers had been mistreated and attacked by ruling party MLAs prior to his eviction, accusing the Speaker of showing partiality towards the AAP, which was in power at the time.
He asserted, “But no action has been taken against them,”
Regarding Vijender Gupta’s nomination, the AAP has not yet responded.
Rekha Gupta’s Big Day
Shalimar Bagh’s first-time MLA, Ms. Gupta, told NDTV that she left her house on Wednesday night to go to a conference of lawmakers with no preconceived notions.
The appointment of her colleague, Parvesh Verma, a two-time former Lok Sabha MP who defeated AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal for the New Delhi seat, was generally anticipated.
But in the end, the BJP came as a huge surprise.
“I had no idea that I would become the Chief Minister when I left home,” Ms. Gupta told NDTV, adding that Mr. Verma had suggested her name.
Instead, Mr. Verma is one of five BJP leaders who have joined the new Delhi cabinet.
