New Delhi: Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal for not taking out the time to wish him New Year, and said he was behaving as the 'De Facto Leader of Opposition'.
The Speaker said his office had tried to contact the L-G's office on January 4, but their calls went unanswered. Then, his office sent a letter January 10, but that too did not yield any response.
After failing multiple times and waiting for six days, the Speaker said he sent his greetings along with a dairy and calendar to Baijal. Goel said he finally received a letter from the L-G thanking him for his greetings on January 23.
"Yet, in his letter, there was not even one word about his preoccupations which prevented him from granting me time," Goel said.
Now, Goel has sent another letter to the L-G that says that "conduct of the office of the L-G does not add to the dignity of the office he is holding".
"As custodian of the Legislature of Delhi, it was painful for me to see the majority of our Legislators struggling to get time from your office with very honourable exception of four legislators who are fortunate enough to have unhindered access to the Raj Niwas. So much so that it leads to conclusion in informed circles that the party in opposition virtually holds its Legislature Party Meeting in the Raj Niwas with the mentor and guide in Your Excellency as the de facto Leader of Opposition,” the letter reads.
The Speaker added that the L-G office is being turned into a "corporate monopoly." "I am being given to understand that even the corporate cronies have better access to Raj Niwas, but not the elected MLAs of Delhi," he said.
The criticism from the speaker comes just two days after Delhi AAP MLAs led by Saurabh Bhardwaj waited for over four hours on the footpath on the road leading to the L-G's office before being granted an appointment.
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