AAP stages 'dharna', writes letter to President after suspended MLAs barred from Delhi Assembly premises

New Delhi: Suspended AAP MLAs, including Leader of Opposition Atishi, were stopped from entering Delhi Assembly premises on Thursday, prompting them to stage a dharna outside and attack the BJP for "crossing all limits of dictatorship" after coming to power in Delhi.

The day also saw two BJP MLAs Anil Sharma and Neelam Pehalwan demanding changing names of Mohammadpur to Madhavpur and Najafgarh to 'Nahargarh' respectively. Senior BJP MLA Mohan Singh Bisht unanimously was also elected Deputy Speaker during the day.

The day started with high drama when security personnel did not allow 21 suspended AAP MLAs to enter the premises. While senior AAP MLA Sanjeev Jha claimed that Speaker Vijender Gupta's order not to allow them in the premises was "strange", Atishi said the BJP was "crossing all limits of dictatorship" after assuming power in the capital.

She also wrote to President Droupadi Murmu seeking time to explain to her the developments in Delhi. AAP MLAs were suspended till Friday following their protests during the address of Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena over alleged removal of photos of BR Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh from the office room of Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta in the Assembly.

In her letter, she explained the reason behind their protest and said Delhi Police personnel erected barricades on roads leading to the Delhi Assembly and prevented MLAs from entering the premises. Atishi told the President that this is "murder of democracy".

"This is the first time in India's history that elected representatives are not even allowed inside the premises of the Assembly. This is a black chapter in the history of Indian democratic history," she wrote in the letter.

"We raised slogans of 'Jai Bhim' in the Assembly on Tuesday and for that, we were suspended for three days. Today, we were not allowed to enter the House. How can they stop the voice of the Opposition?” AAP MLA Kuldeep Kumar said. Jha said the Speaker was not answering their calls.

Amanatullah Khan, the lone AAP MLA was not under suspension as he was not present during the protest inside the House on Tuesday, said that when BJP MLAs climbed on top of tables in the House, they were never stopped like this.

Separately in the Assembly, Pahalwan demanded renaming Najafgarh as 'Nahargarh', claiming that the Mughals had altered its original name.

"Najafgarh faced many challenges under the Mughal rule during Alam-II's time. During the revolt of 1857, Raja Nahar Singh fought and included the Najafgarh region in Delhi's territory. We have been trying for a long time to change the name," she said.

Outside the House, BJP MLA demanded renaming Mohammadpur village in RK Puram as Madhavpur. He claimed the municipal corporation had earlier passed a resolution but the previous AAP government did not take any action.

Bisht, who was elected Deputy Speaker, had also earlier demanded renaming his constituency Mustafabad as either 'Shiv Puri' or 'Shiv Vihar'.

On Tuesday, 21 out of 22 AAP MLAs, including Atishi, were suspended from the House. The suspension of AAP MLAs came on a day when the Delhi government tabled a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on the liquor policy, further intensifying the face-off between AAP and the BJP.

As soon as the L-G began his address, the AAP legislators started raising slogans against the alleged removal of portraits of Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh from the Chief Minister's office.

Delhi minister Parvesh Verma moved a motion for suspension of the opposition MLAs present in the House. Speaker Vijender Gupta suspended the 21 AAP legislators for disrupting Saxena's inaugural address to the newly constituted House and issued orders to marshall out all 21 MLAs from the House due to the disruption.

Following their suspension, AAP MLAs staged a demonstration within the assembly complex, holding up portraits of Ambedkar. Atishi accused the BJP of trying to erase Ambedkar's legacy.

"The BJP has shown its true colours by removing Babasaheb Ambedkar's portrait. Does it believe Prime Minister Narendra Modi can replace Babasaheb?" she said.