New Delhi : Senior Aam Aadmi Party leader and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Atishi has written a letter to the Assembly Speaker on Sunday demanding inclusion of the expelled MLAs in the House. Leader of Opposition Atishi has clarified in his letter that after the formation of the Eighth Assembly, the party and opposition in the House had unanimously elected the Speaker of the Assembly, with the hope that with his experience the House would be run in a democratic and lawful manner.

Atishi wrote that in a democratic system, the Assembly is not just the platform of the government, but it is a powerful institution run by the participation of both the party and the opposition, where the House runs through healthy discussion, dialogue and deliberations. It is the responsibility of the opposition that if the government or the ruling party ignores the public interest or does not work as per its promises, then it should raise all those issues in the House and criticize the ruling party.

Expulsion of entire opposition, question on democracy

Expressing regret, Atishi said that from the meeting of the first session till the first meeting of the fourth session, the attitude of the Speaker of the Assembly towards the opposition is not only worrying but is also not in accordance with democratic values. It is against the dignity of the House to expel the entire opposition, including the leader of the opposition, not only from the House but also from the House premises, for criticizing the government and raising issues of public interest. In the history of independent India, such an instance has not been seen in any Assembly, Legislative Council, or the country’s supreme legislature, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, where the entire opposition was simultaneously thrown out not only from the House but also from the House premises.

Atishi said that this step of the Speaker has started a new tradition, which is not only undemocratic but will also destroy the dignity of the Assembly. He further said that a democratically elected public representative was disrespected and prevented from entering the premises for the entire duration of the session, which is highly condemnable and completely inappropriate. This is also a violation of the privileges of an elected public representative.

Opposition stopped, questions raised on rights

Atishi said that during the recently concluded assembly session, it was seen that the members of the ruling party did not allow the House to function for three consecutive days, due to which many serious issues to Delhi could not be discussed. But the Speaker of the Assembly did not expel even a single member. On the contrary, when the opposition members in the House tried to raise some points, the Speaker not only expelled them from the House but also again expelled them from the House premises and decided not to allow them to come to the House for the entire session. During that time, members were stopped at the gates of the Assembly even when they reached committee meetings and other meetings for which prior notice was given. This shows that an attempt was made to hamper the privileges of elected public representatives and their statutory participation in committees. As a result, they could not perform their legislative functions. This is clearly an act of hindering the exercise of their constitutional rights, which in a way is also a disrespect to the Constitution.

Atishi clarified that being the leader of the opposition, when he tried to raise issues of public interest and other issues of Delhi in the House, as per the instructions of the Assembly Speaker, it was sent to the committee considering it a breach of privilege, which shows that it was an attempt to limit the legislative role of the opposition. It also makes it clear that an attempt was made to deprive them of their legislative responsibilities and the responsibility to raise issues of public interest, which is extremely worrying for a healthy democracy.

‘Include expelled MLAs in the House’

Atishi demanded that in view of the above circumstances, it is the request of all the opposition MLAs that the Speaker of the Assembly should ensure that the honorable MLAs who were unnecessarily excluded in the first meeting of the fourth session, should be included in the second meeting. Also, the House should be run impartially, opposition members should not be stopped from raising issues of public interest and they should be provided adequate time. He has expressed hope that the Speaker of the Assembly will take cognizance of all these issues and ensure that the House is run in accordance with legislative traditions.