Atishi to be The Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly, AAP announces

New Delhi: Former Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Atishi was chosen as the leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Delhi Assembly at a meeting of party MLAs held in the national capital, party leader Gopal Rai announced on Sunday, suggesting that the party would fulfill the responsibility of a healthy Opposition in the House.

“In the legislative party meeting today, it has been unanimously decided that Atishi will be the leader of the opposition in the Delhi Assembly. In challenging times, Atishi has served the people of Delhi as the CM. The AAP will now fulfill the responsibility of a healthy opposition”, Rai said.

AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, along with 22 MLAs, attended the meeting.

Addressing the press conference alongside Rai, Atishi expressed gratitude toward Kejriwal and the elected party MLAs, while stressing that the AAP will make sure that the BJP fulfills the promises it made to the people of Delhi, even as she underlined that the decision to implement a scheme providing assistance of Rs 2,500 to women, was not passed in the first cabinet meeting under the new Chief Minister Rekha Gupta.

“The people of Delhi have selected AAP as the opposition and a strong opposition knows how to amplify people’s voices in the assembly; AAP will fulfill that responsibility. The BJP has made several promises based on which the people have given their mandate to the BJP. Our party will now make sure that those promises are fulfilled,” Atishi said.

The first session of the Delhi Assembly will begin on February 24. During the course of the three-day session, the ruling BJP government is expected to table the pending CAG reports on the AAP government’s performance in the House.

‘Spreading Baseless Propaganda’: BJP leader Vijender Gupta

BJP MLA Vijender Gupta, meanwhile, has criticised Atishi’s letter to CM Rekha Gupta, suggesting the AAP is saying such things in frustration knowing that the BJP government will fulfill its promise.

“Did you (AAP) fulfill the promises made for women’s welfare in 10 years? The AAP knows that the BJP government will fulfill its promises, so they are saying such things out of frustration. The black book of corruption of this government was exposed, following which they were removed from power, and now they are spreading baseless propaganda to divert people’s attention from that…”, Gupta told ANI.

Earlier this week, Atishi had written a letter to CM Rekha Gupta, urging her to meet with AAP legislative delegation for a discussion around the implementation of the Rs 2,500 monthly scheme for women, which was promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his party campaign.

The letter read, “During an election rally in Dwarka on January 31, 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured the mothers and sisters of Delhi that after the formation of a BJP government, the first cabinet meeting would approve a Rs 2,500 per month scheme for them. He had said, ‘This is Modi’s guarantee.'”

 

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