7 BJP MLAs suspended from Delhi Assembly Budget Session
Seven of the eight MLAs of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were suspended on Friday for the remainder of the Delhi Assembly's Budget Session for allegedly disrupting Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena's address. This comes a day after they were marshaled out of the House. According to reports, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Dilip Pandey proposed referring the matter to the privileges committee and suspending the MLAs, until the panel makes a decision. The proposal was passed via a voice vote.
Speaker Goel sends matter to privileges committee
Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel referred the disruption issue to the Privileges Committee and suspended the seven BJP members, including Mohan Singh Bisht, Ajay Mahawar, OP Sharma, Abhay Verma, Anil Vajpayi, Jitender Mahajan, and Vijender Gupta. The suspension will last until the committee's report is completed, reports said. In response, opposition leader Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, the only BJP MLA who was not suspended, staged a walkout.
Budget Session began on Thursday
The Budget Session of the Delhi Assembly began on Thursday with the LG outlining the policies and work of the Delhi government. As soon as Saxena began his speech citing the Arvind Kejriwal-led government's achievements, BJP MLA Vijender Gupta interrupted the address. Gupta was marshaled out soon after. Meanwhile, other BJP MLAs continued interrupting Saxena's address. After they defied the speaker's instructions to sit down and refrain from interrupting the LG's address, he asked marshals to escort them out too.
BJP MLAs protest outside the House
Following the suspension, the BJP MLAs protested outside the House. Bidhuri, in a press conference, alleged that the written speech given by the Delhi government for the LG's address was a "bundle of lies." Bidhuri said the BJP MLAs were suspended because the AAP government was scared of the opposition who have been raising the issue of corruption in the Delhi government. "The voice of the opposition and the people of Delhi is being choked in the assembly," Gupta added.
