Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Delhi Assembly Leader of Opposition, Atishi, on Thursday, accused the police of preventing AAP MLAs from entering the Delhi Vidhan Sabha premises on the instructions of the Speaker.
"Police officers are saying that AAP MLAs are banned from the Delhi Assembly premises. They are saying that they have orders from the Speaker to stop the AAP MLAs at the gate. It has never happened in the entire parliamentary history of the country…,” Atishi told reporters.
Calling the move "unprecedented," Atishi questioned the Speaker’s decision to bar elected representatives from entering the Assembly complex.
"They are saying that the Speaker has ordered that your MLA should be stopped at the gate of Delhi Vidhan Sabha. They have been removed for a three-day sitting as per the orders. But never in the history of the Delhi Vidhan Sabha, or even the Parliament of the country, has an elected representative been denied entry in such a manner," she said.
She further criticized the deployment of police to enforce the restriction. "If an MLA is suspended, their entry into the House is restricted. However, stopping them 50 meters away from the gate using police barricades is unheard of in the history of any legislative body in the country," she remarked. Despite the suspension, she asserted that AAP would continue to fight back.
Meanwhile, BJP leaders defended the Speaker’s decision. BJP MLA Satish Upadhyay stated, "The House will run by law. If they (the opposition) create ruckus and anarchy there (in the House), then the Speaker will take a decision. The decision taken by the Speaker is final." MLA Ravindra Singh Negi accused AAP of disregarding constitutional norms, saying, "You (opposition) are roaming around with the picture of Baba Saheb Ambedkar, but you should follow the Constitution as told by him... They (AAP) think that they are still in power, but they should remember that they are out of power now."
Delhi Minister Parvesh Verma also criticized AAP MLAs, stating, "They (AAP) MLAs cannot raise slogans when the LG is addressing the House. If they break the laws like this, it is not good."
The controversy erupted as tensions between AAP and the BJP-led Delhi government escalated. On Tuesday, Speaker Vijender Gupta suspended 12 AAP MLAs, including Atishi and Gopal Rai, ahead of the tabling of the CAG report.
Following their denied entry, Atishi and other suspended AAP MLAs staged a protest outside the Assembly, holding 'Jai Bhim' placards. She labeled the move "undemocratic and unconstitutional," questioning why suspended legislators were being barred from even entering the premises.
Speaking to ANI, Atishi said, "Police officers are saying that we (AAP MLAs) are suspended from the assembly, so we will not even be allowed to enter the assembly premises. This is undemocratic and unconstitutional... To date, this has never happened in the history of the country... Even in Parliament, there are protests under the Gandhi statue even after being suspended... After all, how can we be stopped? We tried to talk to the Speaker but nothing was happening."
She cited examples from other legislative bodies to argue against the move. "If you see Delhi Legislative Assembly, Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly, elected legislators are never stopped. Even when suspended in Parliament, an elected parliamentarian is never stopped. Therefore, protests often take place in Parliament even after being suspended under the Gandhi statue. Often even in the Delhi Legislative Assembly, when the Bharatiya Janata Party was in opposition, they used to protest under the statue of Gandhi ji under the statue of Ambedkar."
Reaffirming her stance, she added, "We are suspended from the House. Being suspended from the House does not mean that we are suspended from the Assembly premises. We are elected legislators. We have the right to go to the Assembly premises. How are we being prevented from going to the Assembly premises?"
The situation remains tense as AAP continues to protest against the suspension and entry restrictions, accusing the BJP-led government of undermining democratic principles.