New Delhi:

Ten years ago the BJP’s Vijender Gupta was marshalled (well, thrown, actually) out of the Delhi Assembly amid much fury over allegedly derogatory remarks by a party colleague, OP Sharma, against then-AAP MLA Alka Lamba.

Tremendous visuals from within the Assembly showed Mr Gupta, dressed in a pristine white kurta-pyjama set – being lifted, shouting and twisting, by half-a-dozen marshals. The BJP leader even held tightly onto the furniture, fighting and resisting all the way out the exit.

Today, Mr Gupta returns as the Speaker of the same Assembly, after the BJP scripted an almost impossible win in the 2025 Delhi election. He retained the Rohini seat he has held since 2015.

“I am thankful to the party for giving me this responsibility… to be Speaker of the Delhi Assembly. I will fulfill my responsibility. I hope we will have healthy discussions in the House,” he told news agency PTI.

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.”

(Full video available on PTI… pic.twitter.com/8SsH8GEmNT

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 20, 2025

Vijender Gupta’s return will likely spell more trouble for a battered AAP, for he had promised, after his election win last week, that 14 pending reports by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, or CAG, about the former AAP government would be tabled in the House and made public.

The reports, he claimed, would “expose how the AAP misled the people of Delhi with false promises while engaging in financial irregularities amounting to crores”. Mr Gupta also then hit out at the AAP, declaring the party had blocked BJP MLAs’ efforts to table these CAG reports.

Mr Gupta was previously also the Leader of Opposition.

READ | All About Rekha Gupta, Delhi’s Fourth Woman Chief Minister

Sources earlier said he was even on a shortlist for the Chief Minister’s post, something that eventually went to Rekha Gupta, a first-time MLA from Shalimar Bagh who becomes the fourth BJP Chief Minister of Delhi and the second woman from the party to hold that post.

What Happened In 2015?

On November 30, 2015 there was, as there so often is in state Assemblies and the Parliament in India, chaos as the AAP and BJP MLAs went toe-to-toe over the alleged derogatory remarks.

Ram Niwas Goel, then the Speaker, asked Vijender Gupta to leave the House till 4 pm.

ARCHIVES | BJP’s Vijender Gupta Thrown Out Of Delhi Assembly By Marshals

And, when he refused to budge, the marshals were called in. Mr Gupta resisted attempts to remove him and tried to hold on the bench, but the staff huffed and puffed and evicted him.

Before his eviction, Gupta accused the Speaker of being partial towards the AAP, then in power, alleging that three BJP legislators had been abused and assaulted by ruling party MLAs.

“But no action has been taken against them,” he claimed.

The AAP has not yet commented on Vijender Gupta’s nomination.

Rekha Gupta’s Big Day

Ms Gupta, a first-time MLA from Shalimar Bagh, told NDTV she had no expectations when she set out from her home Wednesday evening to attend a legislators’ meeting.

It was widely expected that her colleague, two-time former Lok Sabha MP Parvesh Verma, who beat AAP boss Arvind Kejriwal for the New Delhi seat, would get the job.

As it turned out, though, the BJP sprang quite a surprise.

READ | “Came To Know When Parvesh Verma…”: Rekha Gupta On CM News

“When I left home, I did not know that I would become the Chief Minister,” Ms Gupta told NDTV, explaining also that it was Mr Verma who had proposed her name.

READ | Parvesh Verma, Kapil Mishra In Rekha Gupta’s 6-Member Cabinet

Mr Verma, instead, joins five other BJP leaders as members of the new Delhi cabinet.

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New Delhi:

Delhi Assembly Speaker and Shahdra MLA Ram Niwas Goel on Thursday announced his retirement from electoral politics in a letter written to Aam Aadmi Party National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal.

Mr Goel (76) cited his age as the reason for withdrawing from the electoral fray, however, he assured Mr Kejriwal to continue serving the party.

The two-time MLA’s retirement, ahead of the Delhi Assembly election, comes as a major blow for AAP.

In a letter written to Mr Kejriwal, Mr Goel said, “I humbly want to inform you that for the last 10 years. I have efficiently performed my duties as MLA and Speaker of Shahdara Vidhan Sabha. You have always given me a lot of respect for which I will always be grateful to you. The party and all the MLAs have also given me a lot of respect, for which I express my gratitude to everyone.”

“Due to my age, I want to distance myself from electoral politics. I assure you that I will stay in Aam Aadmi Party and will continue to serve with all my heart and soul. I will try to fulfil whatever responsibility you entrust to me,” he added.

Ram Niwas Goel is one-of the senior-most leader of the Aam Aadmi Party and currently serving as the Delhi Assembly Speaker.

AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal said Mr Goel’s retirement from Politics was an emotional moment for the party.

“Ram Niwas Goyal’s decision to leave electoral politics is an emotional moment for all of us. His guidance has shown us the right direction inside and outside the House for years. Due to his increasing age and health, he had recently expressed his desire to leave electoral politics just a few days ago. We respect his decision. Goyal sahab was, is and will always be the guardian of our family. The party will always need his experience and services in the future too,” Mr Kejriwal said in a post on X.

The Assembly polls in Delhi are expected to be held in early 2025. AAP won 62 out of the 70 seats in the 2020 assembly elections and BJP secured eighth seats.

AAP is gearing up for the upcoming Assembly elections after several turmoils, with Mr Kejriwal being arrested by the ED on March 21, 2024, in connection with a money laundering probe relating to alleged irregularities in the now-cancelled Delhi excise policy 2021-22.

AAP Chief was also arrested by the CBI on June 26, 2024, while he was in custody of the Enforcement Directorate in the excise case.

After his release, from the jail, Mr Kejriwal announced his resignation and made Atishi, Education Minister in his cabinet, the next CM for Delhi, until the next elections.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)