Delhi Assembly’s 1st Speaker Vijay Goel dies

Charti Lal Goel, the first Speaker of Delhi Assembly and father of Union minister Vijay Goel, passed away on Tuesday after a prolonged illness. Charti Lal, 89, breathed his last at the AIIMS. He was cremated at Nigambodh Ghat. His son Vijay Goel lit the pyre.

Vice president Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the death. Mr Modi tweeted: “Spoke to @VijayGoelBJP & condoled the demise of his father Shri Charti Lal Goel, whose rich contribution to public life will be remembered.”

The BJP president Amit Shah, union home minister Rajnath Singh, finance minister Arun Jaitley, urban development minister Venkiah Naidu and a large number of people attended the cremation ceremony at the Nigambodh Ghat. Earlier, the Delhi Assembly Speaker, Ram Niwas Goel, and the Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia visited the late Speaker’s residence and placed wreaths on his mortal remains.

Recalling Charti Lal’s services as the Speaker of the Assembly, Ram Niwas Goel said that his leadership to Vidhan Sabha in its formative years (1993-98) continues to inspire the institution even today.

He was a founder member of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh in 1951 and was a prominent leader of the BJP in the nineties. A prominent I-T expert, he became the first Speaker of the Delhi Assembly in 1993 when the BJP formed the government.