Cong, BJP hand in glove against govt, says Kejri

Accuses parties of working at behest of  Mukesh Ambani

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday accused the Bhartiya Janata Party and the Congress of joining hands against the government and the Speaker. 

He accused both the parties of working at the behest of Reliance Infra chief Mukesh Ambani. However, Congress and BJP stood firm with their demand of removal of Law Minister Somnath Bharti.

Attacking both the parties for not letting the House function, Kejriwal said: “Today the BJP and Congress are exposed. Both of them suspended the powers of Speaker and the Assembly. The entire country has witnessed that both the parties are actually  hand in glove,” the Chief Minister said.

“The Congress and the BJP are not getting government’s contract anymore,” the AAP leader added.

Powers suspended

Both the parties suspended the power of the Speaker by  passing the resolution under section 277 and 278 of the Assembly’s rule and his power by scrapping section 293 from voice votes. 

BJP MLA Jagdish Mukhi said: “The powers of the speaker under section 277 and 278 have been scrapped by the majority of the House so now he cannot expel anyone from the House. By scrapping of section 293 he cannot use his power on any of the House member. Now we demand immediate dismissal of Somnath Bharti.” 

Just for a day

However, the Speaker adjourned the House till Friday as the resolution was applicable for only one day. Irked over opposition’s and the Congress party’s behaviour, Kejriwal accused both of them of working for Reliance Industries.

“The Congress and the BJP are running a system together. And the name of this system is Mukesh Ambani. If they continue to halt the proceedings of the House on Friday, we will see what can be done,” Kejriwal told reporters after the adjournment of the House.

Minister protected

The opposition claimed that Kejriwal was shielding his minister who was also accused of being involved in spam sites.

Reacting to Kejriwal’s remarks, Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Harsh Vardhan said: “Not only is the Congress and the BJP but the entire country demanding resignation of Bharti.

When we kick-started the campaign against Bharti, we staged protest, met the President and raised the issue in the House. We will not let Bharti to put the image of Delhi and the country on stake,”  Harsh Vardhan told reporters. “We will continue our protest till he resigns or the government sacks him,” the BJP leader added.
Cong echoes demand

Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely joined the chorus with Harsh Vardhan and demanded immediate removal of Bharti.

“We will continue our protest till the time Bharti is not sacked,” the Congress leader told reporters.