Delhi Assembly session begins, MLAs take oath in multiple languages

New Delhi: The first session of the New Delhi Assembly began on Monday, with MLAs from the ruling BJP and opposition AAP taking oath in six languages, including Punjabi, Urdu, Hindi, and Sanskrit, highlighting the Assembly’s linguistic diversity.

Before the session commenced, BJP MLA Arvinder Singh Lovely was sworn in as pro-tem Speaker by Lt Governor Vinay Kumar Saxena at Raj Niwas.

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta was the first to take oath, followed by her six cabinet ministers. Delhi PWD Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma and Home Minister Ashish Sood were next in line.

Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa took the oath in Punjabi, while Law and Justice Minister Kapil Mishra chose Sanskrit. Several other MLAs also took their oaths in different languages. Karnail Singh took his in Punjabi, while Pradyum Rajput and Neelam Pehalwan opted for Sanskrit.

BJP MLA Tarvinder Marwah raised religious slogans after taking the oath, prompting an objection from the Speaker. Amanatullah Khan (Urdu), Chandan Chaudhary (Maithili), Ajay Dutt (English), and Gajendra Yadav (Sanskrit) were among others who took their oaths, with the Speaker repeatedly instructing members to adhere to the official oath format.