NEW DELHI: The Delhi Legislative Assembly on Thursday took a decisive step in the “Phansi Ghar” controversy after former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his then-deputy Manish Sisodia, ex-Assembly speaker Ram Niwas Goel and his then-deputy Rakhi Birla failed to appear before the Privileges Committee despite being summoned earlier.
In view of their non-appearance, the report of the Committee of Privileges was tabled in the Assembly and adopted, empowering the Committee and authorising the Speaker to initiate appropriate action in accordance with legislative rules.
The development followed a detailed discussion in the House on alleged financial irregularities linked to the construction of the ‘Phansi Ghar’ structure. Addressing the Assembly, PWD Minister Parvesh Verma said, “Approximately Rs 1.05 crore of public money was spent by the previous government on a structure which does not exist.” He said the matter was serious and raised questions about misuse of public funds and misleading statements made to the House.
During the address, Parvesh also read out excerpts from a speech delivered by Kejriwal on the day the structure was inaugurated. He pointed out the contrast between the claims made at the time and the present ground reality, stating that the issue warranted a thorough examination. According to official records presented in the Assembly, an amount of around Rs 1.05 crore was spent between 2022 and 2023 on the development of the Phansi Ghar structure.
“However, the authenticity of the structure today has triggered serious concerns regarding transparency, accountability, and financial propriety,” the minister said. Earlier on Tuesday, the Delhi Assembly’s Privileges Committee has recommended the House to take appropriate action against four AAP leaders, including ex-chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, for not appearing before it in a matter related to the authenticity of a ‘Phansi Ghar’ on the Assembly premises.
In its report, the Committee said that Kejriwal, former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, ex-speaker Ram Niwas Goel and former deputy speaker Rakhi Birla “deliberately” and “wilfully” chose to stay away from its proceedings in the matter.
The ‘Phansi Ghar’ (execution room) row is a dispute between the AAP and the BJP over a renovated section in the Delhi Assembly, which the AAP claims to be a British-era gallows chamber, while the BJP claims it was a tiffin room.
Showing a 1912 map of the Assembly complex, Gupta said there were no documents or evidence indicating that the space was used for executions, and referred the matter to the Committee of Privileges for examination.
‘Around Rs 1.05 cr spent on non existent structure’
Delhi PWD Minister Parvesh Verma on Friday said that Rs 1.05 crore was spent on the “non-existent Phansi Ghar” during 2022-23, as the Assembly issued fresh summons to ex-CM Arvind Kejriwal and others in the matter. Earlier, on Jan 6, the Privileges Committee had recommended that the House take appropriate action in the matter.