Day 1 Of Delhi Assembly Turns Stormy As AAP Alleges Removal Of Ambedkar, Bhagat Singh Photos; CM Hits Back
Day 1 of the Delhi Assembly session turned stormy as the AAP accused the ruling BJP of removing photos of BR Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh from the CM's office. CM Rekha Gupta countered the allegation.
The first day of the Delhi Assembly under the newly-formed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government witnessed a heated exchange between the treasury benches and opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) members, leading to a brief adjournment of the House. AAP leader Atishi, who serves as the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, alleged that pictures of Dr BR Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh had been removed from the Chief Minister's office following the BJP's takeover. The allegation triggered sloganeering from AAP members, with BJP legislators countering their claims.
#WATCH | AAP MLAs protest inside Delhi Assembly. LoP Atishi alleged that pictures of Dr BR Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh have been removed from CM's office
— ANI (@ANI) February 24, 2025
Speaker Vijender Gupta says, "It was a courtesy address. You should not have made it a political platform. The opposition does… pic.twitter.com/yaPbP5gBeG
Speaker Vijender Gupta criticised AAP members for disrupting proceedings. "The opposition is behaving irresponsibly. You will get time. An attempt is being made to hurt the dignity of the House. I urge opposition members to take their seats and allow the House to function. AAP members have come with an intention to disturb the House. You should not have made it a political platform. The opposition does not want the House to run smoothly," he said, as quoted by news agency ANI. The House was subsequently adjourned for 15 minutes.
Outside the Assembly, Atishi launched a scathing attack on the BJP, accusing it of being "anti-Dalit and anti-Sikh." She claimed, "The anti-Dalit mentality of the Bharatiya Janata Party is well known. Today, a proof of its anti-Dalit mentality has been presented. Arvind Kejriwal had put up photos of Baba Saheb Ambedkar and Shaheed Bhagat Singh in every office of the Delhi government. Since BJP has come to power, BJP has removed both these photos from the Chief Minister's office. This shows that the BJP is an anti-Dalit, anti-Sikh party." She also criticised the BJP government over the "unfulfilled promise" related to the Mahila Samman Yojana.
#WATCH | Former Delhi CM and LoP in Delhi Assembly, Atishi says "The anti-Dalit mentality of the Bharatiya Janata Party is well known. Today, a proof of its anti-Dalit mentality has been presented. Arvind Kejriwal had put up photos of Baba Saheb Ambedkar and Shaheed Bhagat Singh… pic.twitter.com/vxn6LslIVJ
— ANI (@ANI) February 24, 2025
Countering AAP's allegations, Delhi CM Rekha Gupta said, "This is their tactic to hide their corruption and misdeeds behind Babasaheb Ambedkar and Shaheed Bhagat Singh...Should the photo of the Head of Government not be put up? Should the photo of the President of the country not be put up? Should the photo of Father of the Nation Gandhi ji not be put up? Bhagat Singh and Babasaheb are respectable personalities in the country and are our guides. So, this room is of the CM of Delhi and as the Head of the Govt, we have given them the space. It is not my work to answer them, I am answerable to the people..."
#WATCH | On Delhi LoP Atishi's allegations of removal of pictures of Dr Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar & Bhagat Singh from the CM Office, Delhi CM Rekha Gupta says, "This is their tactic to hide their corruption and misdeeds behind Babasaheb Ambedkar and Shaheed Bhagat Singh...Should… pic.twitter.com/7B86vtxgdb
— ANI (@ANI) February 24, 2025
Hours later, the Delhi Chief Minister got cameras to capture the inside of her office in the Delhi assembly to disprove LoP Atishi's claim that the portraits of Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh were removed from there, news agency PTI reported.
VIDEO | Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta (@gupta_rekha) on Monday got cameras to capture the inside of her office in Delhi assembly to disprove LoP Atishi's claim that the portraits of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh were removed from there.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 24, 2025
The move to have cameras… pic.twitter.com/kKnbLwopXD
BJP MLA Tarvinder Singh Marwah dismissed the claims as baseless. "No photo has been removed. They have brought photos from anywhere. They started off their careers from Anna Hazare's (protests)...We thought Arvind Kejriwal was the only one who lied. But she (Delhi Assembly LoP, Atishi) is ahead of him," he alleged, as per ANI.
#WATCH | On the AAP MLAs' protest inside the Delhi Assembly, BJP MLA Tarvinder Singh Marwah says, "No photo has been removed. They have brought photos from anywhere. They started off their careers from Anna Hazare's (protests)...We thought Arvind Kejriwal was the only one who… pic.twitter.com/qv2Xutck5v
— ANI (@ANI) February 24, 2025
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Delhi Minister Parvesh Verma Says AAP 'Tarnished Dignity Of House'
Delhi Minister Parvesh Verma also hit out at AAP, saying, "These 'Aap-da' people did not do any work in 10 years and turned the condition of Delhi from worse to worst. They tarnished the dignity of the House. This House runs on the faith of people of Delhi, people are very hopeful. I want to request the opposition to come up with some good suggestions and we will accept them. We want to work with them, and they should help us in bringing development in Delhi."
VIDEO | On ruckus in Delhi Assembly over the alleged removal of photos of Dr BR Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh from CM office, Delhi minister Parvesh Verma (@p_sahibsingh) says: "These 'Aap-da' people did not do any work in 10 years and turned the condition of Delhi from worse to… pic.twitter.com/m3maLdkx8A
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 24, 2025
AAP leader Kuldeep Kumar, speaking to PTI, reiterated the party's allegation. "...we saw that photos of Dr BR Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh were replaced with those of the PM and President... we have no issue with them putting up photos, but why did they remove photos of Babasaheb and Bhagat Singh? Is the PM over Babasaheb and Bhagat Singh?"
Delhi BJP took to X and highlighted that the chambers of Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and all the ministers of the Delhi cabinet have pictures of Mahatma Gandhi, Bhagat Singh, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on their walls.
दिल्ली की मुख्यमंत्री श्रीमती @gupta_rekha एवं सभी मंत्रियों के कक्ष में श्रद्धेय महात्मा गांधी जी, बाबा साहेब भीमराव अंबेडकर जी, भगत सिंह जी, महामहिम राष्ट्रपति जी एवं प्रधानमंत्री जी के चित्र सुशोभित हैं। pic.twitter.com/zx6puyqr1w
— BJP Delhi (@BJP4Delhi) February 24, 2025
Meanwhile, the BJP government is expected to table the Comptroller and Auditor General's (CAG) reports pertaining to AAP rule in the Assembly on Tuesday. AAP has alleged that the BJP is attempting to "spread a misconception."
This is the first assembly session since the BJP returned to power in Delhi after 27 years.
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