Law and order not under Delhi govt, cannot be discussed in Assembly, says Speaker

New Delhi: Delhi Assembly witnessed a brief uproar as the opposition AAP MLAs on Thursday objected to Speaker Vijender Gupta’s statement, asserting that law and order does not fall under the jurisdiction of the Delhi government and thus cannot be discussed inside Vidhan Sabha.

Gupta was responding in the Assembly to Leader of Opposition Atishi’s letter, in which she accused him of rejecting Special Mention notices by AAP MLAs on the law and order situation in the capital.

Atishi argued that MLAs have always raised issues concerning their constituencies and questioned why discussions on crimes such as rape, shootings and violence against women were being blocked.  "If the 70 members sitting in the Delhi Legislative Assembly cannot raise issues of rising crime in their areas, who will?" Atishi wrote.

She further accused the BJP-led central government of attempting to suppress discussions on crime to hide its failure in maintaining law and order in Delhi.

Gupta rejected Atishi’s allegations, stating that Special Mention notices must be related to subjects under the jurisdiction of the Delhi government. He accused the Opposition of trying to misuse House procedures for political gains rather than addressing public welfare issues like pollution, sanitation and dengue control.

"I will always welcome healthy and democratic debates in the House. However, I will not permit any discussions aimed at gaining political advantage and wasting the time of the House for self-glorification in the media," Gupta asserted.

The debate unfolded amid the first budget session of Delhi’s eighth Legislative Assembly.