Sheila Dikshit's statement invites BJP's ire

A remark made in a lighter vein by chief minister Sheila Dikshit that Delhi Assembly has "strong" Marshals to deal with unruly members, did not go down well with the opposition BJP, which termed the statement as unfortunate.

Addressing an inaugural session of the three-day orientation programme for Delhi legislators, Dikshit said "jumping into the well" was not a practice in the assembly here like in many other Houses in the country.

"Delhi Assembly has strong Marshals to deal with those who jump into the well unnecessarily," she said, in a lighter vein at the function here, attended among others by Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar.

Protesting against the chief minister's statement at the dais, BJP MLA and opposition leader in Delhi Assembly Vijay Kumar Malhotra said, "BJP members were strong enough to deal with those Marshals."

Later, Malhotra said the "statement was unfortunate". He said, in the previous session of the Assembly, the opposition members were "thrown out by the Marshals" and "we had protested the move". "This was against the democratic practice".

BJP leaders, including Jagdish Mukhi and Vijay Jolly, also criticised the chief minister's comment on the issue.