‘First time in history,’ says Atishi after AAP MLAs were ‘barred’ from Delhi assembly premises

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs led by Leader of Opposition (LoP) Atishi staged a protest outside the Delhi Assembly on Thursday ahead of the third day of the new session under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.

The opposition leaders sat on a protest after they were allegedly denied entry into the Assembly premises. They claimed they were blocked from entering the Assembly by the police on the orders of the Speaker and alleged that barricades were placed on the entry road to stop them.

"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," Atishi told news agency ANI.

Later she said in a post on X that the elected MLAs were not even allowed to enter the Vidhan Sabha premises. “This is the first time in the history of the country that elected MLAs are being prevented from entering the assembly premises. Till now the police has not shown us any order. This is the dictatorship of the BJP,” she said.

21 AAP MLAs suspended

Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta had on February 25 suspended 21 AAP MLAs for three days, after they were marshaled out for raising slogans against the ruling BJP for allegedly removing the photographs of Baba Saheb Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh from the Chief Minister's office.

Former Chief Minister Atishi cited examples of other legislative bodies, and said, “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,” she said adding that “being suspended from the house does not mean that we are suspended from the assembly premises.”

Delhi Minister Parvesh Verma backed the suspension of the AAP MLAs and said that they had disrupted the proceedings of the House by raising slogans during the L-G’s address. “If they break the laws in this manner, it’s not good," he said.