NEW DELHI: Leader of Opposition Atishi and 11 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs were suspended from the Delhi assembly on Tuesday after a heated protest over allegations that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had replaced a portrait of Dr BR Ambedkar with that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the chief minister’s office.
Following their suspension, Atishi and other AAP leaders staged a protest outside the Delhi assembly. Atishi accused the BJP of disrespecting Dr B.R. Ambedkar and vowed to continue the demonstration until portrait was reinstated. "Is PM Modi bigger than Dr B.R. Ambedkar? We will not stop protesting until Babasaheb's portrait is restored," she said.
AAP MLA Sanjeev Jha also criticised the BJP, alleging that the party "hates" Ambedkar. "When we raised the issue in the assembly, the Speaker suspended us instead of addressing our concerns," he said.
The suspensions come as the BJP-led Delhi government tabled 14 Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reports, including one on the alleged excise policy scam. The BJP accused AAP of attempting to divert attention from the corruption allegations, with Delhi minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa calling the controversy a "deliberate distraction."
Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta refuted AAP’s claims, asserting that portraits of Ambedkar, Bhagat Singh, Mahatma Gandhi, and the President remained in place. The BJP also shared photos of the CM’s office on social media to counter the allegations.
The political face-off escalated after AAP accused the BJP of "anti-Dalit and anti-Sikh" politics.
Former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal also weighed in, claiming that the removal of Ambedkar's portrait had "hurt millions of followers."
On the other hand, BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari alleged that Kejriwal and his party were trying to evade scrutiny as the CAG reports detailed financial mismanagement under AAP’s rule.
"Once these reports are tabled, their corruption will be exposed, and they will have to face legal action," he said.
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