New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Union minister Harsh Vardhan on Thursday appeared to walk out of the swearing-in ceremony of newly appointed Delhi LG Vinai Kumar Saxena at Raj Niwas in the national capital, citing unhappiness over the seating arrangements for dignitaries. In a video shared by the Congress party' social media incharge, Vardhan is seen leaving the venue upset, and can be heard saying that seats were not reserved for Members of Parliament (MPs).
In the nine-second long video, Vardhan can been seen going out of the venue in middle of the swearing-in ceremony. "They have not provided any seat for even Parliament Members," he was heard saying when asked what had happened.
Watch The Video Here:
Hours after the incident, Vardhan took to Twitter and claried the entire scenario. The Chandni Chowk MP said in a tweet that he was asked by an officer to vacate the seat, stating that it was reserved. After waiting for 15 minutes, he left the venue when no seat was given to him, Vardhan said.
"It was wrongly reported by the media that (I) left oath ceremony of LG because of not getting the desired seat. I sat where one officer seated me, another officer got me vacate that saying it was reserved. Waited for 15 minutes, that seat will be provided anywhere, left when it was not given," Vardhan tweeted in Hindi.
The minister also expressed dissapointment that despite being an MP from Delhi, he could not participate in the oath ceremony of the new Lt Governor. He, however, congratulated Saxena, saying Delhi will emerge as the best city under his tenure.
While leaving the venue, the senior BJP leader said that he would write to LG Vinai Kumar Saxena that this is the arrangement. Vardhan, who is a former Union Health Minister and represents the Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha constituency, was not immediately available for his comments.
No reaction was immediately available from the LG office over the issue.
Earlier in the day, Saxena took oath as the new LG of Delhi in a high-profile event where all the Members of Parliament from Delhi including seven Lok Sabha MPs of BJP were invited.
Interestingly, North East Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari and West Delhi MP Parvesh Verma were seen sitting in back rows of sofas for dignitaries.
Even Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and other ministers from Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) were present at the event. Union Ministers Giriraj Singh and Meenakshi Lekhi, Delhi MPs and MLAs, and top bureaucrats also attended the ceremony.