NEW DELHI: Acrimonious scenes played out during the Delhi Assembly's one-day special session as Speaker Ram Niwas Goel suspended BJP MLA Vijender Gupta for the entire day after he refused to retract derogatory remarks against the AAP.
On Friday, Gupta accused AAP leaders including Tahir Hussain, of being directly responsible for instigating the communal riots in northeast Delhi. "Everyone knows that AAP member Tahir Hussain was involved directly in instigation riots. AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan has defended him on social media. The comments that have been made show that they are playing politics with riots," said Gupta.
Hussain, the suspended AAP councillor, is under arrest in connection with the murder of IB staffer Ankit Sharma during the riots in Chand Bagh area. In response, AAP lawmakers trooped into the Well of the House, leading to adjournment of Assembly proceedings for 15 minutes. The AAP MLAs demanded an apology from Gupta for his derogatory remarks against their party.
Speaker Ram Niwas Goel ordered that the comments of the BJP lawmaker be expunged to pacify the agitating legislators. But the move did not bring the tempers down as the AAP MLAs demanded action against the BJP’s Rohini MLA. Goel then asked Gupta to take back his words but the BJP leader refused. The Rohini MLA was then suspended from the rest of the proceedings of the day.
Later, Okhla lawmaker Amanatullah Khan defended Hussain, saying that his party colleague is being "framed because of his religion".
"Tahir Hussain is only being punished for the fact that he is a Muslim. Perhaps, the biggest crime in India today is to be a Muslim. It may also be proved in the coming times that Tahir Hussain has committed the violence in Delhi," Khan tweeted. On Friday, Hussain was sent to three-day police remand by a city court.
But, Gupta refused to budge from his stand as he continued his attack against the AAP. "The dictatorial attitude of the Kejriwal government continues even within the Assembly. Continued efforts are being made to suppress my voice but I will not back down from telling the truth. It is true that the AAP leaders were involved in instigating riots," he tweeted.
Activists seek more compensation for victims
A group of activists has written to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal urging him to increase the compensation amount of Rs 10 lakh announced for the next of kin of those who killed in the communal riots.
Kejriwal had last month announced Rs 10 lakh ex gratia for the families of those killed in the riots in Delhi. He had also said that the families who lost any minor member would get Rs 5 lakh in damages, while those seriously injured will get Rs 2 lakh.