NEW DELHI: Utter chaos prevailed inside and outside the Delhi Assembly on Saturday with the ruling AAP and the opposition BJP resorting to theatrics leading to the detainment of AAP MLAs. The bone of contention was the reinstatement of bus marshals who were removed from their posts in November 2023 following a row over their appointment made to enhance passenger security in city transport.
Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj along with other AAP leaders were detained while protesting outside Rajniwas. The development came after a cabinet note was passed earlier in the day. AAP leaders led by CM Atishi and BJP legislators with Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta reached L-G VK Saxena’s residence seeking the note’s approval. When AAP leaders angrily protested against the L-G and accused the BJP of backtracking, they were detained by cops.
Atishi, who was present inside the Raj Niwas during the protest, criticised the BJP. “They (BJP leaders) did not even once ask the L-G to sign the note,” she said. However, Gupta told the media that the L-G had accepted the proposal.
In a display of their frustration, Bharadwaj and his supporters prostrated themselves before Gupta, urging him to accompany AAP leaders to meet the LG.
The strife is rooted in a decision made in 2015 to appoint civil defence volunteers (CDVs) as bus marshals. A row erupted in 2023 when the state’s revenue and finance departments questioned their deployment. About 10,000 bus marshals were terminated in November 2023.