NEW DELHI: The Delhi Assembly issued notices to former CM Atishi and other AAP legislators for allegedly “disclosing” deliberations of the recently held General Purposes Committee meeting. The notices come following a complaint of “contempt and breach of privilege” by BJP members.
The AAP claimed that its MLAs, who are members of the panel, had demanded that Mata Savitribai Phule’s portrait be installed in the Assembly, but BJP members did not allow the proposal to be passed. Assembly officials, however, said that no written proposal was submitted.
In a complaint to Speaker Vijender Gupta on May 22, Deputy Speaker Mohan Singh Bisht, BJP chief whip Abhay Verma and party leaders Raj Kumar Bhatia and Tilak Ram Gupta alleged that AAP members during the deliberations in the General Purposes Committee (GPC) meeting had made a passing suggestion that Savitribai Phule’s portrait can also be installed.
“However, we were shocked to find out that the AAP members twisted the facts and declared in a press conference that the ruling party members had opposed their proposal,” read the complaint.
The BJP MLAs also claimed “the very fact that the deliberations of the committee meeting were disclosed” is itself a “serious issue of breach of privilege”.
“Our rules provide that the deliberations cannot be disclosed unless the report is submitted to the House or the Speaker allows it. Accordingly, we are hereby giving notice for initiating breach of privilege and contempt proceedings against Atishi, Kuldeep Kumar, Veer Singh Dhingan and Zubair Ahmad for disclosing the details of proceedings of the GPC and also for disclosing it in a false and twisted manner,” they said.
They accused the AAP MLAs of “disclosing the deliberation” with “political and mischievous agenda” and also claimed that the opposition leaders “deliberately twisted the facts and have presented an entirely false picture before the public”.
Acting on the complaint, the Assembly Secretariat has issued notices to LoP Atishi and AAP MLAs Kuldeep Kumar, Veer Singh Dhingan and Zubair Ahmad directing them to submit their written comments on or before May 30.