Referring to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Atishi's remarks, New Delhi BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj said on Sunday that if any statement made in the Delhi Assembly is to be investigated, it is solely the legal right of the Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta.
Addressing a press conference regarding the objectionable remarks made by Leader of the Opposition Atishi in the Delhi Assembly about Sikh Gurus, the BJP MP said that in the haste to protect Atishi, the Punjab Police was misused and ordered to investigate a matter which did not even fall under its jurisdiction.
BJP MP Swaraj said that it has become a pattern of the AAP to misuse government machinery to suppress democracy, the media and all forms of criticism. "However, when it comes to their (AAP's) own mistakes, they behave with even greater arrogance," she added.
"On January 6, during a discussion on the 350th birth anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur, Atishi used objectionable words while referring to the Sikh Gurus, and instead of apologising, she has gone missing," BJP MP Swaraj said. The BJP MP said that the law grants the Delhi Assembly Speaker the authority to order an inquiry into the statements of any member of the state Assembly.
After Assembly Speaker Gupta sent the House recording to a forensic laboratory the latter's report found that the video objected to had not been tampered with in any manner. Atishi insulted the Sikh Gurus on the floor of the Delhi Assembly, BJP MP Swaraj added.
The BJP MP questioned the whereabouts of Atishi, adding "that she was absent even when office-bearers were announced in Goa, she was not in Punjab either, and for several months the people of her Assembly constituency in Delhi have been searching for her".
"It is surprising that on January 6, Atishi insulted the Sikh Gurus in the Delhi Assembly, and on January 7, Minister Kapil Mishra posted a tweet and on the very same day the Punjab Police registered an FIR against him," Swaraj said. "What does the Punjab Police have to do with the Delhi Assembly," the BJP MP added.
The New Delhi BJP MP said that the truth of the Jalandhar case is that the case has been registered only against social media platforms. "Kapil Mishra or any other individual has not been made a party to the case. The report presented by Speaker Vijender Gupta clearly states that no tampering was done with the video, and hence Atishi should immediately issue an apology," she added.
Bansuri Swaraj