Fifteen Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs, including former Chief Minister and current Leader of the Opposition Atishi, were suspended from the Delhi Assembly on Tuesday following a heated confrontation with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on the alleged liquor policy scam.
#WATCH | Delhi: After being suspended from the Legislative Assembly for the whole day, former CM and Delhi LoP Atishi says, "BJP has replaced the portrait of Dr Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar with that of PM Modi in the CM office, cabinet ministers office…Is PM Modi bigger than Dr… pic.twitter.com/06yEnlWgOr
— ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2025
Assembly Tensions Lead to Expulsions
Among those suspended was senior AAP leader Gopal Rai, one of the few party members to retain his seat in the February 5 elections, in which the BJP secured a landslide victory. Speaker Vijender Gupta ordered their suspension, after which the House was adjourned till noon.
The CAG report, tabled today, is one of several alleging corruption in the AAP government, which was unseated by the BJP in the recent elections. Another report, yet to be presented, pertains to the ‘sheeshmahal’ controversy, which accuses AAP of misusing public funds to renovate the former Chief Minister’s residence with luxury fittings.
AAP Protests Over Removal of Ambedkar’s Portrait
The confrontation intensified during Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena’s opening address when AAP MLAs raised ‘Jai Bhim’ slogans and held up photos of Dr. BR Ambedkar in protest. They alleged that portraits of Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh had been removed from the Chief Minister’s office and replaced with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s image.
The BJP denied these allegations, calling them baseless. The party released videos from Chief Minister Rekha Gupta’s office showing that the portraits of Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh had not been removed but moved to side walls, while new images of Mahatma Gandhi, President Droupadi Murmu, and PM Modi were added.
Despite this, Atishi promised to persist with her protests, stating she would not cease until the initial agreement was reinstated. The ousted MLAs held a protest outside the Delhi Assembly, holding signs and shouting slogans against the BJP administration.
AAP MLA Sanjeev Jha remarked, “In the Chief Minister’s office, the portrait of Dr BR Ambedkar was replaced with PM Modi… when we asked the Speaker if PM Modi is bigger than Dr Ambedkar, he suspended us… They (BJP) hate Dr Ambedkar, but the country will not accept this…”
BJP Hits Back, Vows to Expose AAP’s Corruption
In response, BJP leaders accused AAP of attempting to divert attention from the corruption allegations against its former government. BJP leader Parvesh Verma stated, “The CAG report we have been waiting for is here… we will uncover the extent of the AAP’s corruption. People of Delhi have been looted…”
Delhi’s Environment Minister, Manjinder Sirsa, reinforced this stance, saying, “Today the CAG report – which exposed the scams of Kejriwal’s government – will be tabled in the Assembly. 14 such reports will be tabled one by one… Kejriwal kept it hidden for three years because he knew his corruption would be exposed.”
CAG Report on Liquor Policy Under Scrutiny
Further debates and protests are expected when the CAG report on the alleged liquor policy scam is formally discussed.
The report criticizes the liquor policy implemented under Arvind Kejriwal’s tenure, stating, “actual implementation was sub-optimal and objectives were not achieved.”
It also raises concerns regarding the distribution of liquor licenses, highlighting the “insufficient examination of the business entities (to which the AAP government sold liquor licenses) in terms of their financial capability and management proficiency. ”
With tensions escalating, the Delhi Assembly is anticipated to experience additional confrontations as both parties persist in their political struggle.
