Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta suspended a total of 12 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs including the Leader of Opposition Atishi, former Delhi minister Gopal Rai, and nine other AAP MLAs for the day on Tuesday after they raised slogans during the speech of Lieutenant Governor (L-G) VK Saxena on the second day of the assembly session.
Among the AAP leaders expelled were Atishi, Gopal Rai, Veer Singh Dhingan, Mukesh Ahlawat, Chaudhary Zubair Ahmed, Anil Jha, Vishesh Ravi and Jarnail Singh.
Atishi alleged that the BJP had disrespected BR Ambedkar by removing his portrait from the chief minister’s office.
“The BJP has shown its true colours by removing Babasaheb Ambedkar’s portrait. Does it believe Modi can replace Babasaheb?” she said at a press conference.
The suspended AAP lawmakers later held a protest on the assembly premises with Ambedkar portraits, raising “Babashaeb ka ye apman nahin sahega Hindustan (India will not tolerate this insult to Babasaheb)” slogans.
The three-day Delhi assembly session with the newly elected MLAs began on Monday.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, along with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and opposition MLAs, took their oaths in the assembly under the guidance of Speaker Vijender Gupta.
On Day 2, the assembly witnessed an uproar from the opposition right at the start, ahead of the BJP government’s move to table 14 pending CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General of India) reports concerning the performance of the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government.
The pending audits cover several issues, including state finances, public health infrastructure, vehicular air pollution, liquor regulation, and the functioning of the Delhi Transport Corporation, among others.
The BJP has alleged that the AAP administration “blocked” these CAG reports. — With inputs from agencies