AAP MLAs’ suspension: Atishi calls it ‘injustice’; Speaker responds

Leader of Opposition Atishi on Friday (February 28) wrote a letter to Speaker Vijender Gupta over the suspension of 21 AAP MLAs from the Delhi Assembly and said it was “injustice” to Opposition legislators and also “a severe blow to democratic values”.

Also read: AAP to return to its roots of disruptive politics to take on BJP in Delhi

Condemning the suspensions, AAP MLA and former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi alleged that Opposition voices were being deliberately suppressed.

‘Writing with great pain and sorrow’

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.

Also read: 15 AAP MLAs suspended in Delhi Assembly amid CAG report showdown

"I am writing this letter with great pain and sorrow. 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 injustice to the opposition MLAs, but also a severe blow to democratic values. Our Constitution gives us the right to raise our voice in a democratic way. But if the voice of the opposition is suppressed, if the MLAs are prevented from raising the questions of the public inside and outside the House, then how will democracy survive?" the AAP leader said in the letter in Hindi which she shared on her X (formerly Twitter) account.

Suspended for raising slogans of ‘Jai Bhim’?

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.

"On Tuesday, 25 February 2025, during the address of the Honorable Lieutenant Governor, the MLAs of the ruling party raised slogans of 'Modi-Modi', while the opposition MLAs raised slogans of 'Jai Bhim' respecting the views of Baba Saheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar ji. It is very unfortunate that no action was taken against any MLA of the ruling party, but 21 MLAs of the opposition were suspended from the House for 3 days for raising the slogan 'Jai Bhim'," Atishi wrote.

The controversy escalated when the suspended AAP MLAs, including Atishi, were barred from entering the assembly premises to stage a peaceful protest at the Mahatma Gandhi statue on Thursday. The opposition leader argued that such restrictions were unprecedented and violated democratic traditions.

Disrupting LG’s address

"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.

Speaker responds

Responding to Atishi's claims, the Speaker rejected the allegations of bias and accused the opposition of disrupting the proceedings of the House. He defended the decision to bar the suspended MLAs from the premises, citing Assembly Rule 277, which states that "A member who has been 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".

Gupta also criticised the opposition's conduct, stating that disruptions had begun even before the LG's address.

Referring to the Speaker's election on February 24, he wrote, "It should have been a dignified process. Unfortunately, the process was marred by sloganeering and disruption by the opposition members. Despite this unbecoming conduct, I exercised restraint and did not take any disciplinary action."

Regarding the LG's address on February 25, Gupta pointed to the fifth schedule (code of conduct rules), which mandates that interruptions during the LG's speech be treated as "disrespect towards the Lt Governor and contempt of the House". He said suspending the MLAs was not an arbitrary decision but based on clear parliamentary rules.

Responding to AAP's allegations, Speaker Gupta said in the Assembly, "LoP Atishi has written a letter to me and is continuously misleading people, I want to make it clear that the dignity of the House has to be maintained, especially during LG's address. According to the definition of the Delhi Assembly as per rule 277 of the rule book, the whole premises of the building are included.

"According to the rule, when a member is suspended from the House then that means barred from the whole premises. In the future too, if there will be any misconduct then the same kind of action will be taken," he said.

Atishi writes to President

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.