New Delhi, Feb 28 Expressing surprise over the ignorance of AAP legislators on parliamentary conventions and decorum, Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta on Friday explained to Leader of the Opposition Atishi the reasons behind his decision to suspend AAP MLAs from the legislature.
Apart from writing to Atishi, Speaker Gupta addressed the legislators at the end of the day’s proceedings, saying he wanted to share certain facts with the members to counter the “falsehoods and lies” being spread by Atishi about the suspension of 21 Opposition legislators.
He stressed that he has responded to Atishi’s letter, received on Friday, shared his letter with the media, as was done by Atishi.
The Speaker said that it was not true that AAP MLAs are the first legislators in the country to be barred from entering the legislature’s premises after suspension under Rule 277 (Para 3 (d).
He said the AAP legislators adopted unruly behaviour in the House on February 24 but he did not take any disciplinary action against them as it was the first day of the new Assembly.
“However, the disruption of the address of Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena to the House was against parliamentary conventions and a violation of code of conduct regulations,” he said, justifying his decision to suspend all the AAP legislators from House proceedings for the entire session.
Explaining the factual position about physical restrictions imposed on AAP MLAs following their suspension, Speaker Gupta said, “Rule 277 (Para 3 d) clearly states that members who have been suspended from the House shall be barred from entering the Sutton Premises and from participating in the proceedings of the House and Committees."
He said when a member is suspended, he or she is subjected to these restrictions, which is an established parliamentary procedure.
Speaker Gupta said after the din on February 25, “Following the established rule and as per parliamentary procedures, a motion was moved and passed by majority to suspend 21 MLAs for three days for disrupting the business of the House. This decision was not arbitrary but based on parliamentary rules and precedents.”
Seeking early restoration of order, Speaker Gupta wrote to Atishi, “I urge you, as the Leader of the Opposition, to inspire your fellow MLAs to maintain the dignity of this House and ensure constructive participation in the House.”
“The people of Delhi deserve a responsible and effective Assembly, where serious debates and decisions are taken on their issues,” he wrote.
He expressed pain over the loss of House business hours due to the disruption by the Opposition legislators.
“I am sorry to say that instead of discussing the serious issues related to the Delhi government, especially the CAG reports, you have resorted to disruptive activities in the day. These reports pertain to the period when you were in the government and served as a senior minister and the last minister.”
Earlier in the day, Atishi wrote to the Speaker saying that if the voice of the Opposition is suppressed and legislators were prevented from raising their questions, democracy would not survive.
She urged the Speaker to protect democratic values and ensure that no legislator is deprived of their constitutional rights.
Atishi objected to the fact that no action was taken against the ruling party MLAs when they raised slogans of 'Modi-Modi', while 21 opposition MLAs were suspended for solely raising 'Jai Bhim' slogans.
“I am writing this with great pain and anguish at this moment. The biggest strength of democracy is its fairness and equality. But whatever happened in the Delhi Assembly in the past few days is not only an injustice to the MLAs of the opposition but also a severe blow to democratic values,” she wrote in the letter.
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