Delhi Assembly Silver Jubilee celebration on Saturday evening remained an all Aam Aadmi Party event as Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress spokespersons skipped the celebration following which, Speaker Ram Niwas Goel said it is an insult to the people of Delhi.
The evening was supposed to witness leaders from across the political spectrum charting the journey of the institution since its inception in 1993.
While addressing at the function to mark the 25th anniversary of the Delhi Assembly’s first sitting on December 14, 1993, Goel hit out at the opposition parties in Delhi saying, Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly and BJP MLA Vijender Gupta held press conferences to announce their boycott of the function.
“By boycotting the Delhi Assembly, you are not insulting any party but Delhi’s citizens. It’s a matter of shame,” Mr Goel said, adding that the opposition leaders did not think about the dignity of the House.
The Speaker also expressed his displeasure over BJP veteran LK Advani, who was invited to be the chief guest at the function, skipping the event citing personal reasons.
“We invited Advaniji as the chief guest. He accepted the invite…I have even the copy of the acceptance letter. I do not know the reason why he declined later. After four days, he sent the letter saying he is busy and won’t be able to come. The cards had been printed by then, so we had to get fresh cards printed,” Mr Goel said.
