The suspension of 21 AAP MLAs from the Delhi Assembly was an "insult” to people’s mandate and a “blow to democracy”, Aam Aadmi Party leader (AAP) and the Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Atishi said in a letter to Speaker Vijender Gupta on Friday.
Atishi Writes To Speaker, Terms Suspension Of AAP MLAs 'Undemocratic'
Atishi slams suspension of 21 AAP MLAs, calls it "insult to people's mandate" and "blow to democracy", seeks President's intervention.
Condemning the suspensions, Atishi alleged that opposition voices were being deliberately suppressed.
In her letter to the speaker, Atishi expressed concern over the events in the Delhi Assembly, where she claimed that opposition MLAs faced discriminatory treatment for their protests.
She claimed AAP legislators were suspended after they raised slogans of “Jai Bhim” during Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena's address, while BJP MLAs who chanted “Modi-Modi” faced no consequences.
The controversy escalated when the suspended AAP MLAs, including Atishi, were barred from entering the assembly premises to stage a peaceful protest at the Mahatma Gandhi statue on Thursday. The opposition leader argued that such restrictions were unprecedented and violated democratic traditions.
"This is the first time in the Delhi Assembly that the elected MLAs were not even allowed to enter the assembly premises," she said, adding that the decision was aimed at "suppressing the opposition and crushing their voice".
On Tuesday, 21 AAP MLAs, including Atishi, were suspended for disrupting the LG's inaugural address by raising slogans against the alleged removal of portraits of B R Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh from Chief Minister Rekha Gupta's office in the assembly.
The speaker suspended the MLAs and ordered them to be marshalled out.
Atishi urged the speaker to "uphold democratic values" and "ensure fairness" for all legislators. "Hon'ble speaker, you are the guardian of this assembly. It is the duty of the guardian to do equal justice to all the MLAs, whether they are from the ruling party or the opposition," she stated.
Meanwhile, Atishi has also written to President Droupadi Murmu, seeking an appointment to discuss what she described as the "murder of democracy" in Delhi. She accused the BJP of "crossing all limits of dictatorship" after coming to power in the national capital and called for intervention to restore democratic norms.
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The suspension of the MLAs coincided with the tabling of a CAG report on the Delhi excise policy in the assembly.
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