The second day of winter session of Delhi Assembly witnessed acrimony and adjournments on Tuesday, as legislators from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) clashed over a series of contentious issues, from alleged misinformation, to perceived “insults” against a Sikh guru, and even an alleged “historical gaffe”.
The day’s drama began immediately after the 11am start, as BJP MLAs raised slogans demanding an apology from AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal for what they termed as “baseless claims” that school teachers were ordered to count stray dogs.
The uproar forced two adjournments before proceedings could resume at 2pm, with BJP members continuing their protest near the Mahatma Gandhi statue in the assembly complex.
While BJP MLAs held placards accusing the AAP of spreading lies, the opposition staged a parallel protest on the other side of the assembly complex led by Leader of Opposition Atishi, demanding an immediate discussion on Delhi’s severe air pollution.
“They are running away from discussion. When the air is turning poisonous and the government is asleep, it becomes necessary to raise questions,” Atishi stated.
Treasury benches retorted that a discussion on pollution was already scheduled for Wednesday.
Later Assembly speaker Vijender Gupta intervened to refer the stray dogs’ misinformation issue to the department-related standing committee on education. He also sent the matter of AAP MLAs disrupting the lieutenant governor’s speech on Monday to the privileges committee.
A more sensitive flashpoint, however, emerged during a scheduled discussion on the 350th martyrdom anniversary of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur.
BJP MLAs, including ministers Manjinder Singh Sirsa and Kapil Mishra, accused Atishi of using “insensitive words” in connection with the Sikh Guru and demanded a public apology.
The specific remarks were not clear in the official audio feed, and BJP legislators declined to repeat them.
The BJP members targeted Atishi throughout the afternoon. “At a time when we discuss Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji’s sacrifice, any disrespectful or improper word, regardless of intent, amounts to sin. Speaking such words alongside Guru Sahib’s name is an act of dishonour and demands a public apology,” Sirsa said.
The AAP, in response, denied any disrespect, stating their demand to discuss pollution was made only after the motion on the Guru had concluded. “The demand to discuss pollution was made only after the Guru Teg Bahadur motion had concluded… There was no disruption and no disrespect. The claim being made is factually false,” the party said.
Speaker Gupta termed the matter “sensitive” and suggested a censure motion could be brought on Wednesday after reviewing video footage.
A historical ‘gaffe’
The third flashpoint of the day emerged when chief minister Rekha Gupta appeared to misspeak during her speech at around 3.45pm. While recounting Delhi’s revolutionary heritage, she stated, “Delhi has a vast history. It has seen the age of Indraprastha…. it saw era of Maharaja Agrasen to Prithiviraj Chauhan’s bravery….it also saw Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev… throw a bomb in the assembly to raise the voice of revolution against the deaf Congress government.”
The AAP latched on to the apparent gaffe, pointing out that Bhagat Singh’s famous assembly bombing in 1929 targeted the British government. AAP Delhi chief Saurabh Bhardwaj posted a clip of the speech on social media, declaring, “CM Rekha Gupta embarrasses India… doesn’t even know Shaheed Bhagat Singh was a revolutionary from the time before independence.”
The chief minister’s office did not issue a correction or response till the time of going to print.