A week after she tendered her resignation to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, ostensibly in reaction to what she claimed was in relation to the moral responsibility for the defeat of AAP’s candidate in the municipal by-polls in her constituency, Deputy Delhi Legislative Assembly speaker Bandana Kumari has been allowed to vacate her post.
Statement issued
Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel accepted Ms. Kumari’s resignation on Saturday. The Delhi Legislative Assembly also issued a statement to the effect that “With this, the office of Deputy Speaker of Legislative Assembly of NCT of Delhi has fallen vacant w.e.f. the fore-noon of Saturday, the 4th of June, 2016.”
Her resignation has been submitted to Chief Minister and AAP national convenor Chief Arvind Kejriwal despite the fact that the norm is to send the resignation to the Speaker, in this case, Mr. Goel. Party sources said Mangolpuri MLA Rakhi Birla was set to replace Ms. Kumari and was expected to be administered the oath of office during the upcoming Assembly session next week.
Ms. Kumari had sent her resignation to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal following defeat of Anvika Mittal, party’s candidate in the MCD by-poll from Shalimar Bagh.
She was also understood to be upset over Ms. Mittal’s nomination.
By making Ms. Birla, who served as a Cabinet minister during the party’s 49-day-long stint at the helm of the government in 2014, the deputy speaker, party sources said, the AAP wants to send a positive message to the dalit community.
