The Delhi High Court received assurances from Assembly authorities on Friday, clarifying that the indefinite suspension of seven BJP MLAs for disrupting Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena's address at the start of the budget session wasn't an attempt to suppress dissent within the House. The authorities assured that the privileges committee's proceedings against them would be expedited without undue delay.
Representing the Delhi Assembly, Senior Advocate Sudhir Nandrajog emphasized before Justice Subramonium Prasad that the suspension served as a "self-discipline" measure in response to a series of disruptive actions by opposition legislators.
The court was considering petitions filed by the seven BJP MLAs - Mohan Singh Bisht, Ajay Mahawar, O P Sharma, Abhay Verma, Anil Bajpai, Jitender Mahajan, and Vijender Gupta - challenging their suspension until the conclusion of proceedings before the privileges committee.
Nandrajog, opposing the petitions, argued that the House retains discretion in upholding its dignity. He suggested that the suspended MLAs could have tendered an apology to the House similar to the one they sent to the LG.
In response, the judge advised the petitioners' counsel to address the issue by demonstrating utmost respect to the House in a letter.
Nandrajog stressed that the suspended MLAs violated the code of conduct and denied any political motivation behind the action, citing the ruling AAP's majority in the House.
He assured that there's no intention to delay the proceedings and emphasized that the final decision in the matter is pending. The hearing will continue on Monday, with the court previously instructing the privileges committee to suspend its proceedings against the MLAs due to the ongoing court matter.
The BJP MLAs argued that their suspension violates their constitutional rights, highlighting the importance of opposition presence, especially during the budget session, which precedes the 2025 Assembly polls.
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