Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta on Tuesday accused AAP leader and Leader of Opposition Atishi of spreading misinformation over the reason for suspension of four party legislators from proceedings. The four legislators - Sanjeev Jha, Som Dutt, Kuldeep Kumar, and Jarnail Singh – were suspended from the House solely on the grounds of deliberate disruption of proceedings, said the Speaker in a statement.
He said Atishi told the media and made statements that deliberately seek to mislead the House by claiming that “Today, the members were expelled from the Legislative Assembly merely for wearing masks.” “This assertion is factually incorrect and does not reflect the actual proceedings of the House,” he said.
The action taken by the Chair had no connection whatsoever with the wearing of masks. At no point were Members expelled merely for wearing masks, and any suggestion to this effect amounts to a misrepresentation of facts, said the Speaker in the statement.
The decision of the Speaker was exercised strictly to preserve the authority, order, and dignity of the House and in full conformity with the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of the Delhi Legislative Assembly, said the statement.
“In view of conduct amounting to contempt of the House, the matter has been referred to the Committee of Privileges under Rule 82 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business, which provides that ‘the Speaker may refer any question of privilege or contempt to the Committee of Privileges for examination, investigation or report, and acquaint the House about it’.
The reference has been made strictly within the scope and intent of the said rule,” said the statement. The Speaker said it is also pertinent to note that under Rule 221, the Committee of Privileges is empowered to “examine the question in the light of the evidence and circumstances of the case and determine whether any breach of privileges or contempt has been committed and look into the nature of the breach and the circumstances leading to it, and make such recommendations as it may deem proper”.
Further, it may also be placed on record that the Leader of Opposition Atishi attempted to initiate a discussion on the issue of “Pollution in Delhi” despite the matter already having been formally listed on the agenda for discussion on January 7. Speaker Gupta had already indicated that the subject would be taken up at the scheduled time.
“The attempt to raise the issue in advance of the listed business, notwithstanding this clear position, was viewed as a deliberate and calculated effort to interrupt the scheduled proceedings and disrupt the orderly conduct of business of the House,” said the statement.