Delhi Legislative Assembly

Legislative Assembly of Delhi
Type
Type	Unicameral
Term limits	5 years
Leadership
Speaker of the Assembly	Dr. Yoganand Shastri, (INC) since December 19, 2008
Dy. Speaker	Amrish Singh Gautam, (INC) since December 24, 2008
Leader of the House	Sheila Dikshit, (INC) since December 8, 2008
Leader of the Opposition	Vijay Kumar Malhotra[1], (BJP) since December, 2008
Secretary	P.N. Mishra
Structure
Members	70
Political groups	INC(42) BJP(23) BSP(2) LJP(1) Independent(1) RJD(1)
Length of term	5 years
Elections
Last election	November, 2008 (70 seats)
Next election	November, 2013 (70 seats)
Meeting place
Old Secretariat , Delhi, India
Website
Legislative Assembly of Delhi

The Legislative Assembly of Delhi, also known as Vidhan Sabha, is a unicameral law making body of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, one of the 7 union territories in India. It is situated at Delhi, the state capital of Delhi, with 70 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA).

The present Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dixit, who is also the Leader of the House, and the Speaker of the assembly is Yoganand Shastri. Tejendra Khanna is the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi.

The seat of assembly is the Old Secretariat building, which is also the seat of the Delhi Government.

History

Delhi State Assembly was first constituted on 17 March 1952 under the Government of Part C States Act, 1951, but it was abolished on 1 October 1956. Then in September 1966, the assembly was replaced by a Metropolitan Council with 56 elected and 5 nominated members. The Council however had no legislative powers, only an advisory role in the governance of Delhi. ^[2]

This Council was finally replaced by the Delhi Legislative Assembly through the Constitution (Sixty-ninth Amendment) Act, 1991, followed by the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991 the Sixty-ninth Amendment to the Constitution of India, which declared the Union Territory of Delhi to be formally known as National Capital Territory of Delhi also supplements the constitutional provisions relating to the Legislative Assembly and the Council of Ministers and related matters.^[3] The Legislative Assembly is selected for period of five years, and presently it is third assembly, which was selected through the Delhi state assembly elections, 2008.

Assembly building

Originally built 1912, designed by E. Montague Thomas to hold the Imperial Legislative Council and subsequently the Central Legislative Assembly (after 1919), till the newly constructed Parliament House of India in New Delhi (Sansad Bhawan)was inaugurated on 18th January, 1927.^[4]

The building also housed in the Secretariat of the Government of India, and was build after the capital of India shifted to Delhi from Calcutta, the temporary secretariat building was constructed in a few months' time in 1912, it functioned as the Secretariat for another decade, before the offices shifted to the present Secretariat Building on Raisina Hill.^[5]

See also

• Present members of Legislative Assembly of Delhi

References

1. ^ "V.K. Malhotra back as opposition leader". http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/outgunned-bjp-still-canvassing-as-vk-back-in-parliament/396862/. Retrieved 2011-02-13. 
2. ^ Vajpeyi, p. 167
3. ^ THE CONSTITUTION (Sixty-ninth Amendment) Act, 1991
4. ^ "Old Secetariat". Legislative Assembly of Delhi website. http://delhiassembly.nic.in/history_assembly.htm. 
5. ^ "Architectural marvels for the new capital". Hindustan Times. July 20, 2011. http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/newdelhi/Architectural-marvels-for-the-new-capital/Article1-723169.aspx. 

• Vajpeyi, S. C.; S. P. Verma (1998). Landmarks in Delhi administration (post-independence era), 1947-97. Gyan Books. ISBN 8121205689. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=NTHb_NpdhWsC&pg=PA166&dq=Delhi+administration&hl=en&ei=rpBITKC-KcGecaDs9eIM&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false. 

External links

• Official Site of Legislature in Delhi
• Legislative Bodies of India- Delhi