Gulab Chand Kataria takes oath as Rajasthan Assembly pro tem speaker

Governor Kalyan Singh administered Kataria oath at a ceremony at the Raj Bhawan in Jaipur.

 Jaipur: Senior BJP MLA Gulab Chand Kataria took oath as the pro tem speaker of the Rajasthan Assembly on Monday. The pro tem speaker will conduct the first meeting of the 15th Legislative Assembly which is beginning on Tuesday, and according to the state government's proposal, election of the new speaker will be held on January 16.

Governor Kalyan Singh administered Kataria oath at a ceremony at the Raj Bhawan in Jaipur.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, his deputy Sachin Pilot, members of the council of ministers, BJP MLA Rajendra Rathore and others attended the event.

Outgoing speaker Kailash Meghwal, however, skipped the function.

Meghwal had recently accused the state government of not adhering to parliamentary rules and traditions in summoning the first session, which is beginning tomorrow.

He had alleged that neither the chief minister nor the state parliamentary affairs minister held formal discussion with him before recommending to the governor for summoning the session, which he said, is mandatory.

Once a new speaker is elected, Kataria, who was the home minister in the previous government, will be the leader of opposition while Rajendra Rathore will be his deputy (leader of opposition) in the assembly.