NEW DELHI: The Delhi Assembly witnessed chaos on Friday as Speaker Vijender Gupta suspended several AAP MLAs, including Leader of Opposition (LoP) Atishi, for disrupting the proceedings during the Question Hour.
The Speaker, irked by the constant interruptions from the opposition, ordered marshals to remove the protesting legislators one by one.
By the end of the disruptions, only one AAP MLA, Sahi Ram Pahelwan, remained on the opposition side of the House. The Speaker accused the opposition of engaging in “organised disruption” to avoid participating in a debate on the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report regarding the performance of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) under the previous AAP regime. “I will not allow any indiscipline. If they don’t follow instructions, they will be suspended,” Gupta said.
Earlier this year, during the second day of the Delhi Assembly’s first session in February, a similar incident occurred when 21 out of 22 AAP MLAs were suspended for disrupting the Lieutenant Governor’s speech. In another instance, three AAP MLAs were suspended on Thursday after an altercation with PWD Minister Parvesh Verma, although their suspension was lifted after the lunch break.
On the fifth day of the Assembly’s budget session, AAP MLAs entered the House with posters and pamphlets demanding answers about the BJP government’s unfulfilled promise to provide monthly aid to women ahead of the elections.
The opposition party had accused the BJP of betraying women in Delhi by not depositing the promised Rs 2,500 as the first installment of financial aid, which was supposed to be delivered on March 8.
AAP MLA Surender Kumar raised the issue in the House, questioning when the promised financial assistance would be provided.
The questioning sparked immediate uproar, with multiple AAP MLAs alleging the government’s failure to keep its word. In response, Verma explained that a four-member committee had been set up to implement the scheme and that the honorarium would be distributed once the committee’s notification and eligibility guidelines were finalised.
However, AAP MLA Sanjiv Jha escalated the disruption by displaying a poster, prompting the Speaker to order his removal by the marshals. Subsequently, several other AAP legislators, including Atishi, Mukesh Ahlawat, Jarnail Singh, Vishesh Ravi, and Prem Chauhan, were also removed from the House.
BJP legislators accused the AAP MLAs of laughing and clapping inappropriately, further hindering the House’s functioning. They called for a system to prevent such disruptions from recurring.