February 27th 2025.
In a rare and unprecedented move, Atishi, the Leader of Opposition, took to a peaceful protest on Thursday outside the Delhi Assembly premises. She raised concerns about the Speaker, Vijender Gupta's, authoritarian behavior, which resulted in the suspension of 21 Opposition MLAs from the House. Speaking to IANS, Atishi expressed her disappointment and disbelief, stating that such an incident has never occurred before in the history of the country where elected representatives are denied entry into a legislature.
Atishi clarified that their intention was not to stage a sit-in, but they were left with no other option as the security staff refused them entry into the premises. As the suspended MLAs demanded a copy of the Speaker's order, the security staff failed to provide any documentation. This further added to their frustration and strengthened their belief that they were being treated unfairly.
The Speaker, Vijender Gupta, had initially suspended the AAP MLAs for three sittings. However, on Thursday, the Assembly secretariat announced that the suspension had been extended for the entire session and could potentially continue until March 3rd. Atishi questioned the ruling BJP's motives and wondered why they were so afraid of the name of Baba Saheb Ambedkar. She recalled the House proceedings on Tuesday, where the AAP MLAs were suspended for raising concerns about the alleged removal of Ambedkar and Shaheed Bhagat Singh's photos from the office of Chief Minister Rekha Gupta.
The BJP, on the other hand, dismissed the AAP's allegations of violating any rules in the Assembly. Delhi Minister Parvesh Verma stated that this was just the beginning, as there will be many firsts in the new Assembly. He blamed the AAP for not being constructive in the past ten years and justified their suspension by claiming that their behavior during the L-G V. K. Saxena's address was a blot on parliamentary practices.
Verma further explained that it is a tradition in the rule book to maintain decorum during important addresses, whether it is the President's address in Parliament or the L-G's address in the Delhi Assembly. He defended the Speaker's decision to penalize the AAP MLAs for their grave offense. BJP MLA Kailash Gahlot also joined in, stating that the AAP MLAs have no right to complain about their suspension, as in the previous Assembly, BJP MLA O. P. Sharma was suspended for the entire session.
In conclusion, the AAP and the BJP continued to trade accusations and justifications for the suspension of 21 Opposition MLAs from the Delhi Assembly. The situation remains tense, and it is uncertain when the suspended MLAs will be allowed to resume their duties. The people of Delhi are eagerly waiting for the dust to settle and for normalcy to be restored in their legislative assembly.
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