Four AAP MLAs suspended from Assembly for three days
Four Aam Aadmi Party MLAs were suspended on Monday for the remaining three days of the Delhi Assembly’s Winter Session. The MLAs — Sanjeev Jha, Som Dutt, Kuldeep Kumar, and Jarnail Singh — were penalised for disrupting Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena’s address.
The first session of the year began with Saxena’s speech, which was interrupted by the AAP MLAs protesting against the air pollution in the city.
Following the protests, Speaker Vijender Gupta ordered several opposition members to be marshalled out of the House.
While the Lt Governor was giving his speech, outside, AAP MLAs protested wearing gas masks on their faces.
Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa denounced the protest and asked what steps the AAP took when it was in power.
“AAP MLAs have bought masks worth two lakh rupees each. This clearly shows how much they care about their own health. The question is, where did the fifty to sixty lakh rupees for the masks come from?” Sirsa said.
He said that for 11 years, while the party ran the government, it gave the people “diseases” and “pollution.”
When the House reconvened after the address, PWD minister Parvesh Sahib Singh moved a resolution for the suspension of the four lawmakers.
“Those members who caused disturbance, such as Sanjeev Jha, Kuldeep Kumar, Som Dutt and Jarnail Singh, should be suspended for the remaining three days of the session,” Singh said while reading the resolution. The House passed the motion.
Gupta said the four showed contempt towards the House and the lieutenant governor by causing a disturbance without any valid reason.
Jha responded to the suspension, “When the LG addressed the Assembly, it was our responsibility as the Opposition to ask where that 80 per cent pollution reduction formula is, why pollution has become so severe, and why December turned out to be the most polluted month.”
