DW BUREAU / Chandigarh

BJP MLA Harvinder Kalyan and Krishan Lal Middha were unanimously elected Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively of the Haryana Assembly here on Friday. This was the first session of the 15th Vidhan Sabha after the Nayab Singh Saini government was sworn in on October 17. The House was adjourned after newly elected MLAs were administered oath and Speaker and Deputy Speaker were elected.

Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini moved a resolution in the House proposing Kalyan's name while BJP MLA Ranbir Gangwa seconded the proposal. Kalyan is a three-time MLA from Gharaunda in Karnal district. Minister Krishan Lal Panwar proposed BJP's Jind MLA Middha's name and ruling party MLA Ganshyam Dass seconded it after which Middha was elected unanimously as the Deputy Speaker. While Kalyan (57) is a civil engineer by training, Middha (54) holds a Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery degree.

Prior to Kalyan's election as Speaker, Pro-tem Speaker and senior Congress leader Raghuvir Singh Kadian administered oath to Saini and other newly elected MLAs of the 90-member House.

Saini, while addressing the House after MLAs were administered oath, said the present government will work to further accelerate the pace of development. He also said suggestions from the opposition that serve the public interest are always welcome, and added they will make every possible effort to meet the expectations, hopes and aspirations of the people.

Hooda, while addressing the Chair after Kalyan was elected as Speaker, said, "It is the duty of the Speaker that opposition should have its say. We are ready to extend cooperation, we will always be ready."

Earlier, before the MLAs were administered oath, Congress leaders Hooda and B B Batra objected to Raghuvir Singh Kadian (80), who is also the senior most member of the House, being addressed as Acting Speaker instead of Pro-tem. "In which rules, which bylaws the term Acting Speaker has been written?" Batra asked. Hooda said he himself has remained a six-time MLA and four-time MP, "but for the first time I am hearing Acting Speaker term instead of Pro-tem Speaker".

"This is an insult to the Chair, such constitutional impropriety... this should be changed," said Hooda.

Intervening, Saini said Acting Speaker term has also been used during Congress' time, to which Hooda argued if incorrect terminology was used then it should have been pointed out at that time.

Saini said correction will be carried out in the records after which Kadian said, "The sense of the House is approved." Meanwhile, BJP's Ram Kumar Kashyap, the MLA from Indri, will be party's chief whip in the Vidhan Sabha. Saini (54) was the first one to be administered oath by the Pro-tem Speaker. His council of ministers -- seven-time MLA from Ambala Cantt Anil Vij, Israna MLA Krishan Lal Panwar, Badshahpur MLA Rao Narbir Singh, Panipat Rural MLA Mahipal Dhanda, Faridabad legislator Vipul Goel, Gohana MLA Arvind Kumar Sharma and Radaur MLA Shyam Singh Rana -- were subsequently administered oath by the Pro-tem Speaker.

Among other ministers, Tosham legislator Shruti Choudhry, Ateli MLA Arti Singh Rao, Tigaon MLA Rajesh Nagar and Palwal legislator Gaurav Gautam were administered oath.

After the council of ministers, women MLAs were administered oath.

Among them were BJP's Bimla Chaudhary, Krishna Gahlawat and Shakti Rani Sharma; Congress' Geeta Bhukkal, Manju Choudhary, Pooja, Shakuntla Khatak and Olympian wrestler Vinesh Phogat; and Independent MLA Savitri Jindal. Phogat, who was wearing a sports jersey, said 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Khiladi, Jai Naujawan and Jai Haryana' after taking oath.

Former chief minister Hooda exchanged greetings with Chief Minister Saini and Vij shook hands with them after taking oath as MLAs.

Among the MLAs who took oath in Sanskrit included minister Krishan Kumar Bedi and other BJP MLAs Jagmohan Anand, Ram Kumar Kashyap, Om Prakash Yadav, Ghanshyam Dass and Laxman Singh Yadav.

The MLAs who took oath in English were BJP's Shruti Choudhry, INLD's Arjun Chautala, Congress' Mandeep Chatha, Akram Khan, Aftab Ahmed and B B Batra. Congress' Mohd Illyas took oath in Urdu and Congress' Shishpal Keharwala in Punjabi.

In the October 5 Haryana Assembly polls, the BJP returned to power for a third consecutive term by winning 48 seats, while the Congress won 37 seats. The INLD won two seats and three Independents were also elected.

Chief Minister Saini, who is also Leader of the House, congratulated Kalyan on being elected as Speaker, and praised his extensive experience, distinctive working style and admirable personal qualities such as humility.

Saini highlighted that the BJP government, having won the public's mandate for a third consecutive term, has accepted its responsibility for public service. However, every member of this House is equally committed to public service, he said, and reaffirmed his commitment to working with all members, both from the ruling party and the opposition.

Saini said of the 90 members in the 15th Vidhan Sabha, 40 have been elected for the first time. He emphasised the importance of providing first-time MLAs with ample opportunities to speak and contribute meaningfully to discussions. He said in the 14th Vidhan Sabha, nine women were elected, and added it is a matter of pride that this number has now increased to 13 in the current Assembly.
(editor@dailyworld.in)