Fifteen Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs, including former Chief Minister Atishi, were suspended from the Delhi Assembly during a confrontation with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over a Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) report alleging corruption linked to the AAP’s liquor policy. The report, which criticized the policy’s implementation and called for accountability, was tabled amidst accusations from both parties. AAP protested against the alleged replacement of portraits of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh with Prime Minister Modi’s picture in the Chief Minister’s office, prompting further disputes. The BJP vowed to expose AAP’s corruption in response.
New Delhi:
Fifteen Aam Aadmi Party MLAs – including former Chief Minister Atishi, who now serves as the Leader of the Opposition – were suspended from the Delhi Assembly for the day on Tuesday morning during a confrontation with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party regarding an auditor’s report on the purported liquor policy scam.
Senior AAP leader Gopal Rai, one of the few prominent members to retain his position after the February 5 elections (party leader Arvind Kejriwal faced a different fate), was also removed from the Assembly.
Speaker Vijender Gupta subsequently ordered the House to recess until noon.
The report presented today by the Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) is among several alleging corruption by the AAP, which governed Delhi until the BJP’s electoral victory this month.
Another report looks into the ‘sheeshmahal‘ scam, suggesting that public funds were used for lavish renovations of the bungalow that Mr. Kejriwal occupied as Chief Minister. This particular report has yet to be presented.
These allegations have plagued the AAP and Mr. Kejriwal – who, along with his former deputy Manish Sisodia, was imprisoned for several months – leading up to the elections in which the party faced a significant defeat; the BJP secured 48 of Delhi’s 70 seats, a gain of 37 seats more than in the previous two elections combined.
The chaos began with Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena’s opening speech to the Assembly.
AAP MLAs chanted ‘Jai Bhim’ slogans and displayed images of Dr. BR Ambedkar to protest the alleged removal of his pictures, as well as that of Bhagat Singh, from the office of the new Chief Minister, Rekha Gupta. The party claimed these images had been swapped for those of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
#WATCH | Delhi: Following a day-long suspension from the Legislative Assembly, former CM and Delhi LoP Atishi stated, “The 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 greater than Dr… pic.twitter.com/06yEnlWgOr
— ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2025
The BJP has dismissed these claims and accused the AAP of falsehoods.
READ | No Ambedkar, Bhagat Singh Pics In Offices: Atishi. BJP Responds, “Don’t Lie”
Videos from Ms. Gupta’s office, released by the BJP, showed that the pictures of Dr. Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh, which were previously behind the Chief Minister’s desk in the AAP administration, had been moved to the side walls and replaced with those of Mahatma Gandhi, President Droupadi Murmu, and Mr. Modi.
AAP vs BJP Over Ambedkar-PM Photos
Atishi, however, stated that she would continue to protest until the photos were returned to their original places.
Following their expulsion, the ousted MLAs gathered outside the Delhi Assembly to persist with their protests, brandishing placards and chanting slogans against the new BJP government.
AAP MLA Sanjeev Jha expressed his outrage, saying, “In the Chief Minister’s office, the portrait of Dr. BR Ambedkar was replaced with PM Modi’s… When we questioned the Speaker if PM Modi is greater than Dr. Ambedkar, he suspended us… They (BJP) harbor disdain for Dr. Ambedkar, yet the nation will not accept this…”
BJP’s Parvesh Verma replied to the AAP’s commotion in the Assembly, asserting that his party would expose the “corruption” of the former government. “The CAG report we’ve been waiting for is finally here… We will reveal the depth of AAP’s corruption. The people of Delhi have been robbed…”
Mr. Verma – viewed as a leading candidate for Chief Minister until Ms. Gupta’s announcement and who defeated Arvind Kejriwal for the New Delhi seat – wasn’t the only BJP figure in Delhi to retaliate.
Manjinder Sirsa, Delhi’s Environment Minister, stated, “Today the CAG report – which has exposed the scams of Kejriwal’s government – will be submitted in the Assembly. Fourteen such reports will be presented one after the other… Kejriwal concealed it for three years because he knew his corruption would be unveiled.”
CAG’s Liquor Policy Report
More (certainly more vociferous) protests are anticipated when the CAG report regarding the purported liquor policy is formally presented, either later today as the BJP planned or tomorrow.
The report critiques the policy the AAP instituted under Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, stating, “the actual implementation was sub-optimal and objectives were not achieved”.
A long list of criticisms in the CAG report notes a “lack of scrutiny of the business entities (to whom the AAP government issued liquor licenses) concerning their financial stability and management capability”. The report has stated “responsibility and accountability should be established for the lapses observed and the enforcement mechanism should be enhanced”.
With input from agencies
NDTV is now accessible on WhatsApp channels. Click on this link to receive all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.