'No Seats for Parliament Members': Why Ex-Minister Harsh Vardhan Walked Out of Delhi L-G's Swearing-in

A tense situation was on Thursday witnessed during the oath-taking ceremony of the new Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Vinai Kumar Saxena at the Raj Niwas when BJP leader and former union minister Dr Harsh Vardhan walked out of the event expressing unhappiness over the arrangements as seats were not reserved for Members of Parliament (MPs).

Rohan Gupta, the social media in charge of the Congress, shared a video on his Twitter handle where a visibly angry Vardhan was seen leaving the venue, and when someone asked, “What happened, sir?”, he replied, “They have not provided any seat for even Parliament Members.”

“I will write to Vinai Kumar Saxena ji that this is the arrangement,” Vardhan said. Saxena did not comment on it when asked by the media over the issue.

Vardhan, who is a former Union Health Minister and represents the Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha constituency, was not immediately available for his comments.

No reaction was immediately available from the LG office over the issue.

After taking the oath, Saxena said he would work as the city’s local guardian and not as Lieutenant Governor. “I want to tell Delhi people that I will work as a local guardian and not as lieutenant governor,” said Saxena (64), who was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Acting Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court Vipin Sanghi.

“I will be visible more on roads than at the Raj Niwas,” he told the media. Raj Niwas is the official residence of the Lieutenant Governor.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues, Union Ministers Giriraj Singh and Meenakshi Lekhi, Delhi MPs and MLAs, and top bureaucrats of the city government attended the ceremony. North East Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari and West Delhi MP Parvesh Verma were seen sitting in back rows of sofas for dignitaries.

Kejriwal said his government would work together with the new Lieutenant Governor as it had done with his predecessor Anil Baijal.

Saxena, who held the post of chairperson of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), was appointed the Lt Governor of Delhi on May 23. His predecessor Anil Baijal resigned as LG on May 18 citing personal reasons. Saxena is a Kanpur University alumnus with a pilot license.

In March 2021, he was appointed by the Union government as a member of the national committee to commemorate 75 years of India’s independence. In November 2020, he was nominated as a member of the Padma Awards selection panel for 2021.

(with inputs from PTI)

Read all the Latest Politics News here