A day after the BJP and AAP sparred over alleged “disrespect” to Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur, MLAs of the ruling party Wednesday staged a protest inside the Delhi Assembly, demanding the cancellation of Leader of Opposition (LoP) Atishi’s House membership.
BJP MLAs carried posters and shouted slogans as they trooped into the well. The protest forced Speaker Vijender Gupta to adjourn the House twice, before finally adjourning it till Thursday.
Atishi, meanwhile, accused the BJP of lying. She posted two videos of her in the Assembly — one posted by AAP another by the BJP — terming them ‘genuine’ and ‘fake’ respectively.
“The BJP hates the Sikh community and the Gurus, and even today, they have committed a disgusting act by insulting the Gurus. The BJP has misused the name of Guru Teg Bahadur Ji in a wrong manner and insulted Guru Sahib,” she said.
“They tweeted a video in which…lies have been told… This was not when a discussion on the 350th anniversary of Guru Teg Bahadur Ji’s martyrdom was going on, but after it had concluded, when the discussion on the LG’s address had begun.”
The LoP said that the ruling party added wrong subtitles in the video and inserted the name of the Sikh Guru in it.
“I can give my life, but I cannot insult Guru Sahib. Guru Teg Bahadur Ji sacrificed his life to protect the people of other faiths. And the BJP is misusing his name for petty politics? They should feel ashamed,” she added.
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AAP MLA Gopal Rai, meanwhile, demanded the original video recording of the statement made by Atishi Wednesday. He also claimed that the BJP was just creating ruckus to avoid a discussion on Delhi’s pollution.
Speaker Gupta said earlier during the day that he had a verbatim of Atishi’s statement, terming the same “condemnable” and “unacceptable”.
Delhi ministers Parvesh Sahib Singh, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Ashish Sood, Kapil Mishra and others on Wednesday also submitted a letter to the Speaker and demanded a criminal case be registered against Atishi and her membership be revoked.
“Atishi, the Leader of the Opposition, stood up from her seat and made a statement about Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji that was so indecent, shameful, and disrespectful that we cannot even put it in writing. We are attaching a verbatim transcript of the words she spoke,” read the letter.
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“…those who insult Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji through this House do not belong in this House, but in Tihar Jail,” the letter also read.
The issue is likely to rock the Assembly again on the last day of the Winter Session on Thursday.
