Seven BJP MLAs Challenge Suspension from Budget Session, Move Delhi High Court

Seven BJP MLAs filed a petition in the Delhi High Court on Monday, contesting their suspension for the duration of the Budget session of the Delhi Assembly due to their disruption of the Lieutenant Governor’s address. The request for an urgent hearing was made before a bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet PS Arora, who granted permission for the case to be heard on the same day. 

The BJP legislators were accused of repeatedly interrupting Lt Governor VK Saxena during his speech on February 15, which focused on the achievements of the AAP government, as they aimed to criticize the Arvind Kejriwal administration on various fronts. Senior Advocate Jayant Mehta mentioned the matter, saying the MLAs were suspended wrongly and their right to participate in the proceedings is being affected. He said the motion to suspend the MLAs is unconstitutional and contrary to the rules.

He emphasized that typically, MLAs could be suspended for a maximum of three days, but in this case, the suspension is open-ended. AAP MLA Dilip Pandey had proposed a resolution in the House regarding this matter, which was endorsed by the Speaker. Additionally, Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel had referred the disruption issue to the Privileges Committee on February 15.

Seven BJP members, with the exception of Leader of Opposition Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, have been prohibited from participating in the House proceedings until the report is finalized. The suspended members are Mohan Singh Bisht, Ajay Mahawar, OP Sharma, Abhay Verma, Anil Vajpayi, Jitender Mahajan, and Vijender Gupta.