Atishi claims AAP MLAs not allowed to enter House: 'Never happened in history of Delhi Assembly'

AAP MLA and former Chief Minister Atishi

Ahead of the Assembly session on Thursday , AAP MLA and former Chief Minister Atishi alleged that her party MLAs are not being allowed to enter the House.

In a post on X, Atishi wrote, “The BJP people crossed the limits of dictatorship after coming to power. Aam Aadmi Party MLAs were suspended from the House for three days for raising slogans of ‘Jai Bhim’…This has never happened in the history of Delhi Legislative Assembly that elected MLAs are not being allowed to enter the Assembly premises.”

Atishi (@AtishiAAP) February 27, 2025

On the third day of Delhi Assembly session, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta will propose the name of BJP MLA Mohan Singh Bisht for the post of deputy speaker. Bisht, a six-time MLA and senior BJP leader, won the Mustafabad assembly seat in the February 5 Delhi polls. He defeated AAP’s Adeel Ahmad Khan by over 17,000 votes.

Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta on Tuesday suspended 21 AAP MLAs, including Leader of Opposition Atishi, for three days for disrupting Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena's inaugural address to the newly constituted House.

The proposal for their suspension was moved by Delhi Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Parvesh Verma and passed through a voice vote in the House. The suspended MLAs will not be allowed to participate in the assembly proceedings on February 27 and 28.

Speaker Gupta expressed disappointment over the disruptions, saying, "When the assembly session began, we hoped that both the ruling party and the opposition would work together for development, as today's discussion was very important." With the AAP having 22 MLAs in the Delhi Assembly, all but Okhla MLA Amantullah Khan have been suspended. Khan was absent from the House.

Following their suspension, the 21 MLAs staged a protest inside the assembly complex, holding Ambedkar's portraits and chanting slogans such as "Babasaheb ka ye apmaan nahi sahega Hindustan (India will not tolerate this insult to Babasaheb)" and "Jai Bhim." "The BJP has shown its true colours by removing Babasaheb Ambedkar's portrait. Does it believe (PM Narendra) Modi can replace Babasaheb?" Atishi said  at a press conference.