New Delhi, February 25 – Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta on Tuesday suspended 12 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislators, including Leader of the Opposition Atishi, for the entire day due to sloganeering during Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena’s address in the Assembly.
The suspended AAP MLAs include prominent leaders such as Atishi, Gopal Rai, Veer Singh Dhingan, Mukesh Ahlawat, Chaudhary Zubair Ahmed, Anil Jha, Visesh Ravi, and Jarnail Singh. The disruption occurred as Saxena delivered his address, leading to an uproar in the House.
Atishi accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of disrespecting Dr. B.R. Ambedkar by allegedly removing his portrait from the Chief Minister’s office. She stated during a press conference, "The BJP has shown its true colors by removing Babasaheb Ambedkar’s portrait. Do they believe that (Narendra) Modi can replace Babasaheb?"
She further alleged that the BJP-led administration had removed Ambedkar’s portraits from both the Delhi Secretariat and the Chief Minister’s office in the Assembly.
Following their suspension, the AAP legislators staged a protest within the Assembly premises, holding Ambedkar’s portrait and chanting slogans such as “India will not tolerate this insult to Babasaheb.”
The incident has intensified the ongoing political friction between AAP and BJP in the national capital, with both parties trading accusations over respect for national icons and administrative decisions.
