New Delhi (India), February 24: The first day of the Delhi Legislative Assembly under the newly-formed BJP government saw tensions rise between the treasury benches and opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) members, resulting in a brief adjournment of the House.
The controversy began when AAP leader Atishi, the Leader of the Opposition, alleged that pictures of Dr. BR Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh had been removed from the Chief Minister’s office. AAP members began raising slogans and stood in protest, prompting a counter-response from BJP members.
Speaker Vijender Gupta condemned the behavior of the opposition, stating, “The opposition is behaving irresponsibly. You will get time. An attempt is being made to hurt the dignity of the House. I urge opposition members to take their seats and allow the House to function. AAP members have come with an intention to disturb the House. You should not have made it a political platform. The opposition does not want the House to run smoothly.”
As a result, the session was adjourned for 15 minutes.
Outside the House, Atishi accused the BJP of being “anti-Dalit and anti-Sikh” after alleging the removal of the two prominent leaders’ photographs. “The anti-Dalit mentality of the Bharatiya Janata Party is well known. Today, a proof of its anti-Dalit mentality has been presented. Arvind Kejriwal had put up photos of Baba Saheb Ambedkar and Shaheed Bhagat Singh in every office of the Delhi government. Since BJP has come to power, they have removed both these photos from the Chief Minister’s office. This shows that the BJP is an anti-Dalit, anti-Sikh party,” she said.
Atishi also criticized the government for not fulfilling the promises related to the Mahila Samman Yojana, a scheme aimed at benefiting women.
In response, BJP MLA Tarvinder Singh Marwah refuted AAP’s claims, stating, “No photo has been removed. They have brought photos from anywhere. They started off their careers from Anna Hazare’s (protests)… We thought Arvind Kejriwal was the only one who lied. But she (Atishi) is ahead of him,” he said.
The BJP government is expected to table Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) reports regarding the AAP’s rule in the assembly in the coming days. However, AAP has accused the BJP of trying to “spread a misconception.”
The BJP has returned to power in Delhi after 27 years, and the initial clash in the Assembly highlights the intense political atmosphere between the two parties.