Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta slammed LoP Atishi for defending four suspended AAP MLAs. He accused her of "speaking ill" of the Chair and "spreading lies" after she demanded the revocation of their suspension for the Budget Session.
Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta on Tuesday criticised Leader of Opposition Atishi for "defending the misconduct" of four suspended AAP MLAs, accusing her of "speaking ill" against the Chair of the House.
In the Winter Session of the Delhi Assembly, the Speaker had suspended AAP MLAs Sanjeev Jha, Som Dutt, Kuldeep Kumar, and Jarnail Singh for allegedly disrupting the House. Atishi has demanded that the Speaker revoke the suspension for the ongoing Budget Session.
Speaker Accuses Atishi of Defending Misconduct
In a letter to Atishi, Speaker Vijender Gupta said that he had advised the AAP leader to attend the sitting on March 21 to discuss the matter in the House; however, she abstained.
Gupta wrote, "I am in receipt of your letter dated 24th March 2026 received through eMail regarding the suspension of four Members of the Aam Aadmi Party and very sorry to see that you have continued to defend the misconduct of your Members and have chosen to speak ill of the Chair and the decision of the House."
'Disrupted Solemn Occasion'
He highlighted that the four AAP MLAs were suspended as per the provisions of the Rules of the Procedure of the House, for disturbing the Address of then Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena.
The Assembly Speaker also accused Atishi of "spreading lies." He wrote, "You would recall the Hon'ble Members who were suspended by the House as per the provisions of the Rules of the Procedure were done so because of their continued agitation and misbehaviour in the House. They were first suspended when they disturbed the Address of the Hon'ble Lieutenant Governor, which is a solemn occasion, wherein the Hon'ble Lieutenant Governor is discharging his constitutional obligation to address the Assembly."
"Instead of condemning the behaviour of your errant Members, you chose to spread lies that your party members were not being allowed to raise the issue of pollution in Delhi. Thereafter, when these Members continued with their agitational attitude to disturb the House and defy the directions of the Chair, the House was constrained to suspend them for the remainder of the Session, strictly as per the provisions of the Rules of Procedure of the Delhi Assembly," the letter read.
Gupta added, "I would like to remind you that during our meeting on Saturday, March 21, 2026, I had advised that you should attend the sitting and the House would take a decision on the matter, because it was the House which had suspended the Members and only the House had the powers to recall the Members. In spite of being aware of the Rules and my specific advice, you did not attend the sittings and instead, as usual, decided to abstain and blame the House and the Speaker. It is not surprising, because even earlier, when you made objectionable remarks against Sikh Gurus, you fled the House and have not attended the sittings even after repeated requests from the Chair."
AAP Demands Revocation of Suspension
This comes after Atishi's letter to the Assembly Speaker alleging that the Opposition has been systematically "silenced" through repeated suspensions and expulsions, and asserting that AAP MLAs will resume participation only after the suspension of four legislators is revoked.
She said that the party remains willing to participate in the ongoing Budget Session, given its importance for the city's governance, and mentioned that an AAP delegation had met the Speaker on March 21.
The Budget Session of the Delhi Legislative Assembly, which commenced on Monday, March 23, will conclude on Wednesday, March 25. (ANI)
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