The political clash between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the Delhi Assembly escalated with Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva strongly condemning opposition leader Atishi Marlena’s alleged comments on Sikh Guru Teg Bahadur, demanding a public apology and announcing a protest against the AAP leadership.
Speaking on the issue, Sachdeva said, “When the Assembly was paying tribute to the sacrifices of Guru Tegh Bahadur ji and Sahibzadas, the derogatory words used by the opposition leader Atishi are not fit to be used anywhere. We strongly condemn it. The public is angry over this issue.” He further said that BJP has decided to protest against Atishi and Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal outside the Aam Aadmi Party office on Friday and demanded that Atishi should publicly apologize for his statement.
The controversy came to light in a tense atmosphere during the current winter session of the Delhi Assembly. The proceedings were disrupted on Thursday morning when BJP MLAs demonstrated against alleged statements by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). At the same time, Aam Aadmi Party MLAs entered the House carrying posters and slogans demanding the resignation of BJP leader Kapil Mishra. Due to the uproar, the Speaker had to adjourn the House for 30 minutes.
The issue has come up in the context of the protest organized by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the Delhi Assembly complex earlier this week to protest against rising air pollution and deteriorating AQI levels. Atishi had accused the BJP of “running away” from the discussion on pollution and avoiding accountability. Highlighting the serious health impacts of poor air quality, he said children are being forced to use steroid inhalers, hospitals like AIIMS are filled with patients struggling to breathe and senior citizens are facing life-threatening conditions.
He also alleged that AQI data was being manipulated through water sprinkling, and called the situation a serious public health emergency that requires legislative action.
Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party MLA and deputy leader of opposition Mukesh Ahlawat wrote a letter to Speaker Vijendra Gupta questioning the circulation of the video related to Atishi’s comments. He said the video shared by Kapil Mishra is not part of the official record of the Assembly and expressed concern over the manner in which it was received. The Aam Aadmi Party has demanded release of the entire proceedings of the Assembly, cancellation of membership of Kapil Mishra (as he has doctored the video) and suspension of other MLAs who shared it. The winter session of the Delhi Assembly began on January 5 and will continue till January 8.