Delhi MLA Vijender suspended from Assembly till next Budget session

NEW DELHI : Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel suspended BJP legislator Vijender Gupta on Tuesday for a year till the next Budget session for allegedly obstructing the proceedings of the House.

Earlier in the day, Gupta had proposed a breach of privilege motion against Finance Minister Kailash Gahlot and Environment Minister Gopal Rai for leaking Delhi budget details on social media.

To this, Goel had said, ''As per rules, such a notice needs to be given three hours before. You are saying that it should be taken up for discussion today itself. It seems the aim is to create a ruckus and waste the time of the House.''

The speaker also issued a strict warning to Gupta. The notice given by him mentioned the leaking of details of the 'Outcome Budget', which was tabled in the Assembly on Monday, but while speaking in the House, he spoke about the 2023-24 Budget that is to be tabled.

As the House reconvened after 2 pm, Gupta again raised the issue, following which AAP MLA Sanjeev Jha demanded that he be expelled for a year.

The motion was passed by the House, with Goel saying that Gupta was suspended from the Delhi Assembly proceedings till the next Budget session.

In 2016, BJP MLA OP Sharma was suspended for two Assembly sessions for alleged inappropriate remarks against the then AAP MLA Alka Lamba.

In a statement, Gupta said that ''this misuse of power by the ruling party has been unprecedented and totally unjustified''. Gupta labelled this as a ''prime illustration of the spiteful politics of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who disregards democratic values''. He alleged that the entire AAP machinery conspired to shut his voice since he exposed their fake education model.

The MLA said he will meet President Droupadi Murmu and Lok Sabha speaker to apprise them of ''the murder of democracy'' orchestrated by the AAP dispensation in Delhi.