All AAP MLAs, Except Amanatullah Khan, Suspended From Delhi Assembly For Three Days Over 'Ruckus To Hide Corruption'

On Tuesday (25 February), Vijender Gupta, the Speaker of the Delhi Assembly, imposed a three-day suspension on 21 out of the 22 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs from the Legislative Assembly, effective until 28 February.

Amanatullah Khan, the three-time AAP legislator from Okhla, was the sole opposition MLA who was not suspended since he did not attend the session on Tuesday, The New Indian Express reported.

Previously, Gupta had temporarily barred 12 AAP MLAs, including the Opposition Leader Atishi and former Delhi minister Gopal Rai, for a day due to their slogan shouting during Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena's address on the assembly session's second day.

The moment Saxena initiated his speech, the proceedings were interrupted by AAP MLAs who began chanting slogans. They had even started their "Jai Bhim" chants before his address. Consequently, they were suspended from the House.

Atishi accused the BJP of showing disrespect towards B R Ambedkar by taking down his portrait from the chief minister's office, as well as the Delhi Secretariat and the assembly.

"The BJP has shown its true colours by removing Babasaheb Ambedkar's portrait. Does it believe Modi can replace Babasaheb?" she alleged at a press conference.

The suspended AAP MLAs later held a protest on the assembly premises with Ambedkar portraits, chanting "Babasaheb ka ye apmaan nahi sahega Hindustan (India will not tolerate this insult to Babasaheb)" and "Jai Bhim" slogans.

Responding to the AAP MLAs' suspension, Delhi Minister Ravinder Indraj Singh said, "This is not a protest. These AAP leaders are scared. They are trying to create unrest in the assembly instead of resigning. They are trying to hide something."

Singh's Cabinet colleague Ashish Sood alleged that the ruckus is a 'cover-up' by the AAP to hide its corruption as the CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) report will expose wrongdoings of the previous AAP government.

The AAP claimed on Monday that portraits of Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh were taken down from the office of Delhi's Chief Minister, Rekha Gupta. In response, the BJP charged the AAP with attempting to divert attention from the CAG reports that were presented in the assembly today.

The BJP shared photographs of the CM's office, saying, "The portraits of Mahatma Gandhi, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, Bhagat Singh, the president, and the prime minister are displayed in the offices of Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and other ministers."