The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs on Monday staged a protest outside the Delhi Assembly, carrying out what they described as a “funeral procession of democracy” to protest the suspension of party legislators and accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of suppressing the voice of the opposition.
Leader of Opposition Atishi alleged that the BJP government was trying to stifle democratic debate in the Assembly by suspending opposition members and preventing them from raising public issues. “The BJP is bent on killing democracy. Today, we are standing outside the Delhi Assembly.
The Assembly is a temple of democracy where the voice of the people is raised and both the ruling party and the opposition put forward their views,” Atishi told IANS. She claimed that the opposition was not being allowed to speak in the House and termed the suspension of AAP MLAs as an attack on democratic principles.
“If the voice of the opposition is suppressed and opposition MLAs are expelled from the Assembly for one or two months simply for raising the voice of the people, it means democracy has been murdered,” she added. Atishi said the AAP legislative party was protesting against what she called the BJP’s attempt to silence dissent inside the Assembly.
She also urged the ruling party to revoke the suspension of the AAP legislators. “We request the BJP to allow our expelled MLAs to re-enter the Assembly. Otherwise, none of our AAP MLAs will participate in the session,” she said. AAP MLA Imran Hussain also criticised the suspension of party members, saying it undermines democratic functioning in the House.
“Four of our MLAs have been suspended. If you talk about presenting the budget but keep opposition members out and do not revoke their suspension, then this is nothing short of the murder of democracy,” Hussain said. The AAP also posted messages on the social media platform X criticising the BJP and accusing it of running a “dictatorial government” in Delhi.
In another post, Atishi alleged that the police were used to prevent the protest. “Dictatorship backed by the police will not be tolerated. Today, when the Aam Aadmi Party raised its voice against the BJP’s dictatorship, the Delhi Police put up barricades on the road itself,” she said on X.
She further said that the party would continue its struggle to protect democratic institutions and expose what it described as the BJP’s authoritarian functioning. Four AAP MLAs were suspended during the Winter Session in January for “disrupting” proceedings of the House. Their suspension continues as the previous sitting of the House was not prorogued.