‘Faansi Ghar’: Kejriwal’s absence from panel hearing held as contempt; Speaker sends report to House

New Delhi, Jan 9 The Privileges Committee of Delhi Assembly has recommended “appropriate action” against AAP leader and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his three party colleagues for their deliberate absence from its meetings to examine the alleged false claims over “Faansi Ghar”, Speaker Vijender Gupta said on Friday.

“Despite adequate opportunity, time, and clarifications being provided, and in the absence of any stay order, or direction from any Court, none of the four concerned individuals — Former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Former Speaker Ram Niwas Goel, Former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, and Former Deputy Speaker Rakhi Birla – appeared before the Committee on the scheduled dates,” said the Speaker quoting the Committee’s report.

“In the opinion of the Committee, such conduct amounts to contempt of the House and of the Committee,” he said.

The Privileges Committee has recommended that appropriate action may be taken by the House against the concerned persons for their deliberate absence from the meetings of the Committee, he said.

The Speaker said, “I place this matter before the House with full confidence and I trust the wisdom of the Members that they will consider the recommendations of the Privileges Committee and take an appropriate decision in accordance with the Constitution, the law, and the traditions of this House.”

The matter pertains to the alleged false claims made during the previous AAP government to wrongly brand a colonial era “Tiffin Room” as a “Faansi Ghar” (Execution Chamber) within the Assembly premises.

The matter was later referred to the Privileges Committee by the Speaker.

On Friday, the Speaker said in a statement, “I wish to place before this esteemed House the factual position that has emerged following the report submitted by the Privileges Committee. This matter is not only connected with a significant historical claim, but is also intrinsically related to the powers, dignity, and functioning of this Legislature and its Committees.”

He said after the formation of the Eighth Legislative Assembly in February 2025, several initiatives were undertaken to preserve and safeguard the historic character of the Delhi Assembly Building. During this process, in order to ensure historical accuracy and authenticity, the official records and archival material were examined.

Information received from the National Archives revealed that there was no existence of a “Faansi Ghar” within the Assembly premises. Instead, the records indicated that the concerned area was used as a “Tiffin Room”, he said.

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