LoP Atishi and AAP MLAs protest in Delhi Assembly over the alleged removal of Ambedkar’s portraits from the CM office.
New Delhi: Twelve Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs were suspended from the Delhi Assembly on Tuesday for disrupting Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Vinai Kumar Saxena’s customary address with massive sloganeering.
The opposition MLAs, chanting "Jai Bhim" slogans, were protesting the alleged removal of Bhagat Singh and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s portraits from the Delhi Chief Minister’s office. Despite repeated warnings from Speaker Vijender Gupta, the AAP MLAs continued their protest, forcing the Speaker to order their suspension and adjourn the House until noon.
Among those suspended was Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Atishi, along with Gopal Rai, Anil Jha, Jarnail Singh, Vishesh Ravi, Som Dutt, Surender Singh, Veer Singh Dhingan, Mukesh Ahlawat, Virender Singh Kadian, Kuldeep Kumar, and Chaudhary Zubair Ahmad.
AAP members accused the BJP-led government of replacing Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh’s portraits in the CM’s office. On Monday, former Chief Minister Atishi shared an image of herself seated in the office with their portraits in the background, contrasting it with a photo of the new Chief Minister, Rekha Gupta, where portraits of Mahatma Gandhi, President Droupadi Murmu, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were displayed instead.
The BJP swiftly countered these claims, releasing an image showing Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh’s portraits on an adjoining wall. A video later surfaced confirming that Gandhi, Murmu, and Modi’s portraits were behind the Chief Minister’s chair, while those of Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh remained on a side wall.
The Delhi Assembly's three-day session, which began Monday, included the oath-taking ceremony of newly elected MLAs and the nomination of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker. On Tuesday, the BJP government is set to table the CAG report, which states that the "actual implementation was sub-optimal and objectives behind the policy were not achieved."
With IANS inputs