The silver jubilee celebration of the Delhi Assembly on Saturday remained an all-AAP MLA event, with both Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress boycotting the event.
In his address at the function to mark the 25th anniversary of the Delhi Assembly's first sitting on December 14, 1993, Speaker Ram Niwas Goel hit out at the opposition parties in Delhi.
Slamming the BJP and the Congress for staying away from the event, Goel said it was an insult to the people of Delhi.
He said 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," 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 L.K. 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," Goel said.
The celebration was attended by former members of the Assembly and Delhi Metropolitan Council, among others.
--IANS
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