A day after Congress stalwart legislator CP Joshi filed nomination for election of Assembly Speaker, he was elected to the post unopposed. Joshi, with over thirty-eight years of politiacal career, is one of the seniormost MLAs in the Assembly.
Protem Speaker Gulab Chand Kataria conducted the voting by calling out those in support and against the nomination. However, none of the 199 MLAs opposed the nomination and thus Joshi was elected Speaker, unopposed.
Following the result, Kataria asked MLAs to bring Joshi to the Chair and soon all MLAs including those in the Opposition, smaller parties and Indpependents converged at Joshi’s seat, congratulating him. Former chief minister Vasundhara Raje met Joshi at his seat and congratulated him as CM Ashok Gehlot stood next to Joshi and welcomed him.
RLP leader Hanuman Beniwal stood up and tried to correct Gehlot who took a satirical jibe at Beniwal’s party symbol – a bottle.
Beniwal, in reply, mentioned that the bottle was a water bottle and nothing else. While Beniwal was engrossed in doling out his verbal punches, the BJP politicos objected to the same.
A few Independent MLAs also joined Beniwal who demanded that allotment of Houses to legislators be investigated.
However, objecting to Beniwal’s comments, BJP’s Rajendra Rathore stood up and told the Assembly that a new tradition was being formed wherein barbs were being exchanged at an auspicious time of a new Speaker being appointed. Rathore said that such a thing had not happened in the past and that MLAs will have other avenues to put up their issues.
A few Congress MLAs aggred to Rathore and Kataria then stood up and tried to inform the MLAs about their duties and traditions. Realising that the uproar was too much of a hinderance and damaging the traditions, CM Gehlot intervened to put an end to the war of words saying it was not the right time to say such things and that there will be more occassions when the BJP could be taken on.
Thereafter, Joshi thanked the MLAs for giving him the responsibility. In his speech, Joshi told them to read the rules and regulations of the Assembly and to abide by them.
He laid emphasis that he will listen to all the legislators and try to perform his duty as a Speaker in the best way manner.
