New Delhi, Feb 27 – Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislators, including Leader of Opposition Atishi, were barred from entering the Delhi Assembly premises on Thursday, prompting them to stage a protest outside the gate. The move comes after 21 out of 22 AAP MLAs were suspended from the House over disruptions during Lt Governor VK Saxena's address earlier in the week.
AAP members were protesting the alleged removal of BR Ambedkar’s portrait from the Chief Minister’s office. They accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of suppressing the Opposition’s voice, calling it an act of "dictatorship."
With placards bearing Ambedkar’s image and beats of 'daflis' in the background, AAP leaders raised slogans such as "BJP sun le, Jai Bhim, Jai Bhim" and "BJP ki tanashahi nahin chalegi" (BJP’s dictatorship won’t work).
AAP MLA Kuldeep Kumar criticized the suspension, stating, "We raised slogans of 'Jai Bhim' in the assembly, and for that, we were suspended for three days. Now, they are not allowing us to enter the House. How can they silence the Opposition like this?"
Sanjeev Jha, another suspended MLA, called the Speaker’s decision "strange," emphasizing that they had backed his appointment. "Now he has expelled us. We are trying to reach him, but he isn’t responding. This BJP government hates Dr BR Ambedkar’s ideology," Jha alleged.
AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan pointed out that BJP legislators had previously created disruptions in the House without facing similar consequences. "Even when BJP MLAs climbed on tables, they were never stopped like this. This has never happened before," he said.
Atishi, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), called the incident unprecedented. "AAP MLAs were suspended for three days for chanting 'Jai Bhim.' Today, they are not even being allowed inside the Vidhan Sabha. This has never happened in the history of the Delhi Legislative Assembly."
The suspension was enforced on Tuesday when AAP MLAs protested against the alleged removal of Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh’s portraits from the Chief Minister’s office. As Saxena began his address, AAP legislators raised slogans, leading Delhi Minister Parvesh Verma to move a motion for their suspension. Speaker Vijender Gupta upheld the motion, ordering the marshalling out of the MLAs.
The controversy coincided with the Delhi government’s tabling of a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on the liquor policy, escalating tensions between AAP and the BJP. Following their removal from the Assembly, AAP MLAs staged a sit-in inside the complex, displaying portraits of Ambedkar in protest.
Accusing the BJP of attempting to erase Ambedkar’s legacy, Atishi remarked, "The BJP has shown its true colours by removing Babasaheb Ambedkar’s portrait. Does it believe Prime Minister Narendra Modi can replace Babasaheb?"
The standoff marks yet another flashpoint in the ongoing power struggle between AAP and the BJP in Delhi, with the Opposition alleging an increasing crackdown on dissent.
