New Delhi – Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta suspended 12 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs, including Leader of Opposition Atishi and former Delhi minister Gopal Rai, during the assembly session on Tuesday. The suspension followed protests by AAP legislators, who raised slogans during the speech of Lieutenant Governor (L-G) VK Saxena.
The suspended MLAs include Atishi, Gopal Rai, Veer Singh Dhingan, Mukesh Ahlawat, Chaudhary Zubair Ahmed, Anil Jha, Vishesh Ravi, and Jarnail Singh.
Atishi accused the BJP of disrespecting Dr. B.R. Ambedkar by removing his portrait from the Chief Minister’s office. “The BJP has shown its true colours by taking down Babasaheb Ambedkar’s portrait. Do they think Modi can replace Babasaheb?” she questioned during a press conference.
Following their suspension, the AAP MLAs staged a protest within the assembly premises, holding up Ambedkar’s portraits and chanting, “Babasaheb ka ye apmaan nahi sahega Hindustan” (India will not tolerate this insult to Babasaheb).
The three-day Delhi Assembly session, which began on Monday, saw heated exchanges on its second day. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and other BJP MLAs took their oaths under the supervision of Speaker Vijender Gupta.
The session was further disrupted as the BJP government moved to table 14 pending Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reports, scrutinizing various aspects of the previous AAP government’s governance. These reports cover state finances, public health infrastructure, vehicular air pollution, liquor regulation, and the functioning of the Delhi Transport Corporation.
The BJP has accused AAP of deliberately blocking these reports from being presented earlier.
