Ramvir Bidhuri appointed Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly

BJP's Badarpur MLA Ramvir Singh Bidhuri was on Monday unanimously appointed by the party as the Leader of Opposition in the 7th Delhi Assembly.

While congratulating Speaker Ram Niwas Goel in the House on the first day of the assembly session, Bidhuri expressed hoped that Goel would protect the rights of opposition members to raise people's matters.

Bidhuri's name was announced at the Delhi BJP office in presence of city unit president Manoj Tiwari.

The BJP won 8 seats in the polls held earlier this month for the 70-member Delhi Assembly, while the Congress drew a blank.

In the House, Bidhuri assured Goel that the BJP legislators would give their support for the smooth functioning of the House.

 

"We at least represent 40 per cent of Delhi population. I request you (Ram Niwas Goel) to also give us sufficient time to raise public matters in the House," Bidhuri said in the Assembly.

As the Leader of Opposition concluded his speech, AAP MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj supported the demand of opposition members to provide them with equal time to speak in the assembly during discussions.

Bharadwaj said that in Lok Sabha dominated by BJP MPs, the ruling party members should also ensure equal time to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MPs for discussions.

The Greater Kailash MLA said the relation between the AAP and the BJP is like "saas-bahu".

He said there are three AAP MPs in the Rajya Sabha while one in Lok Sabha, adding that they should also be given sufficient time during discussions.

Bidhuri started his political journey as student activist with RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in Delhi University in the 1970s.

He was elected MLA from Badarpur on Janta Dal ticket in the first Legislative Assembly of Delhi in 1993. He was the leader of Janta Dal legislative party, that had four MLAs, from 1993 to 1998.

He was again elected to the Delhi Assembly from Badarpur in 2003 on an NCP ticket. Bidhuri joined the BJP in 2013 and was again elected from Badarpur seat on the party ticket in the Assembly elections that year.

Sixty-nine newly elected MLAs, including Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia, took oath as members of the Delhi Assembly as its three-day session began on Monday.

Janakpuri MLA Rajesh Rishi could not take oath on Monday because he was not in town and he will now take oath as the member of newly-constituted Delhi Assembly on Tuesday.