Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta on Friday responded to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA and former Delhi CM Atishi over her letter to him condemning the suspension of party MLAs. Citing the rules of the Delhi Assembly, the Speaker said that it is very clear that when a member is suspended, he is denied entry into these restricted areas, which is an established parliamentary convention.
“… Rule 277, point 3(d) clearly states, ‘A member who is suspended from the service of the House shall be barred from entering the premises of the House and from taking part in the proceedings of the House and Committees.’ So, it is clear that when a member is suspended, he is denied entry into these restricted areas, which is an established parliamentary convention,” the letter stated.
Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta writes a reply to AAP MLA and LoP Atishi’s letter.
Writes, “… Rule 277, point 3(d) clearly states. ‘A member who is suspended from the service of the House shall be barred from entering the premises of the House and from taking part in the… pic.twitter.com/xAlQDWmxxh
— ANI (@ANI) February 28, 2025
Earlier in the day, Atishi, MLA from the Kalkaji seat, wrote a letter to Gupta and condemned the suspension of 21 AAP MLAs from the Delhi Assembly. She dubbed the Speaker’s move an “insult” to people’s mandate and a “blow to democracy.” The former Delhi CM alleged that the opposition voices were being deliberately suppressed. In her letter to the speaker in Hindi, Atishi expressed concern over the events in the Delhi Assembly, where she claimed that opposition MLAs faced discriminatory treatment for their protests.
She claimed AAP legislators were suspended after they raised slogans of “Jai Bhim” during Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena’s address, while BJP MLAs who chanted “Modi-Modi” faced no consequences. The controversy escalated when the suspended AAP MLAs, including Atishi, were barred from entering the assembly premises on Thursday to stage a peaceful protest at the Mahatma Gandhi statue. The opposition leader argued that such restrictions were unprecedented and violated democratic traditions.
“This is the first time in the Delhi Assembly that the elected MLAs were not even allowed to enter the assembly premises,” she said, adding that the decision was aimed at “suppressing the opposition and crushing their voice”.
On Tuesday, 21 AAP MLAs, including Atishi, were suspended for disrupting the LG’s inaugural address by raising slogans against the alleged removal of portraits of B R Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh from Chief Minister Rekha Gupta’s office in the assembly.
The speaker suspended the MLAs and ordered them to be marshalled out. Atishi urged the speaker to “uphold democratic values” and “ensure fairness” for all legislators. “Hon’ble speaker, you are the guardian of this assembly. It is the duty of the guardian to do equal justice to all the MLAs, whether they are from the ruling party or the opposition,” she stated.
Meanwhile, Atishi has also written to President Droupadi Murmu, seeking an appointment to discuss what she described as the “murder of democracy” in Delhi. She accused the BJP of “crossing all limits of dictatorship” after coming to power in the national capital and called for intervention to restore democratic norms. The suspension of the MLAs coincided with the tabling of a CAG report on the Delhi excise policy in the assembly.
(With agencies’ inputs)