Days after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs were suspended from the Delhi Assembly, Leader of Opposition (LoP) Atishi said on Thursday that AAP MLAs were being stopped from entering the Assembly premises after being suspended for three days from the proceedings in the House.
Atishi, who bagged the Kalkaji seat in the recently concluded Delhi Assembly polls, said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was “crossing all limits of dictatorship” after coming to power.
Soon after the House proceedings began on Tuesday, Atishi and other AAP MLAs protested against the alleged removal of B. R. Ambedkar’s portrait from the CM’s office. Speaker Vijender Gupta suspended the 21 AAP legislators for disrupting Lt. Governor V. K. Saxena’s inaugural address to the newly constituted House.
Reacting to the development that occurred on Thursday, the former Delhi CM took to the social media platform X and said that AAP MLAs were not allowed to enter the Vidhan Sabha, and it is something that has never happened in the history of the Delhi Assembly.
“AAP MLAs were suspended from the House for three days for raising slogans of ‘Jai Bhim.’. And today, they are not even being allowed to enter the Vidhan Sabha premises. This has never happened in the history of the Delhi Legislative Assembly,” the AAP leader said.
देश के इतिहास में पहली बार है जब चुने हुए विधायकों को विधानसभा परिसर में अंदर जाने से रोका जा रहा है। अभी तक पुलिस ने हमें कोई आदेश नहीं दिखाया। ये भाजपा की तानाशाही है।
हमने “जय भीम” के नारे लगाए तो हमें विधान सभा परिसर से ही बाहर कर दिया। भाजपा बाबा साहेब अंबेडकर से नफ़रत… pic.twitter.com/x0olgHOJUF
— Atishi (@AtishiAAP) February 27, 2025
Speaking to reporters, 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 is happening.”
#WATCH | Delhi: Assembly LoP and AAP leader Atishi says, “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… pic.twitter.com/FeZ1xpPohT
— ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2025
After being denied the permission to enter inside the Assembly premises, Atishi and other AAP MLAs sat on protest.
VIDEO | AAP MLA and LoP in the Delhi Assembly Atishi (@AtishiAAP) and other party MLAs sit on protest after being reportedly denied entry into the Assembly premises.
Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta on Tuesday suspended 21 AAP MLAs, including Leader of Opposition Atishi,… pic.twitter.com/N67rZcK8SB
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 27, 2025
On Tuesday, 21 out of 22 AAP MLAs, including Atishi, were suspended from the House. The suspension of AAP MLAs came on a day when the Delhi government tabled a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on the liquor policy, further intensifying the political face-off between AAP and the BJP.
Okhla MLA Amanatullah Khan was the only AAP legislator spared from the suspension, as he was not present in the House during the protest. The motion for suspension was moved by minister Parvesh Verma.
As soon as the LG began his address, the AAP legislators started raising slogans against the alleged removal of portraits of Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh from the Chief Minister’s office. Speaker Vijender Gupta issued orders to marshall out all 21 MLAs from the House due to the disruption.
Following their suspension, AAP MLAs staged a demonstration within the assembly complex, holding up portraits of Ambedkar. Atishi lashed out at the BJP, accusing it of trying to erase Ambedkar’s legacy. “The BJP has shown its true colours by removing Babasaheb Ambedkar’s portrait. Does it believe Prime Minister Narendra Modi can replace Babasaheb?” she said.