BJP MLAs protesting at the Delhi Assembly (ANI photo)
BJP MLAs will continue their overnight protest at the Delhi Assembly for the second consecutive day to Tuesday to demand the sacking of AAP ministers over corruption charges.
The eight BJP MLAs were marshalled out of the House for the third day amid multiple adjournments and sloganeering by the leaders of both the ruling AAP and BJP.
On Monday, MLAs of both the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the BJP had staged an overnight protest at the assembly premises amid an ongoing war of words between the two parties on allegations of corruption.
AAP legislators are demanding the resignation of Delhi LG V K Saxena while the BJP lawmakers were pressing for the sacking of ministers Satyendar Jain and Manish Sisodia over alleged corruption allegations. The AAP has accused Mr Saxena of pressuring two of his subordinates to get demonetised currency notes worth Rs 1,400 crore exchanged during his term as the Khadi and Village Industries Commission chairman (KVIC) in 2016.
The BJP MLAs were marshalled out by Deputy Speaker Rakhi Birla on Friday and Monday.
Multiple adjournments marred Tuesday's session, and around 2 pm, the session resumed during which Sisodia addressed the House.
Mr Sisodia referred to BJP as the 'Bachcha Chor Party', apparently referring to the arrest of a BJP corporator in an alleged child kidnapping case, following which BJP legislators protested prompting Birla to marshal out everyone, except Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri.
Mr Bidhuri, however, walked out in protest.
"I would have been also marshalled out later had I not walked out in protest. They wanted us to hear the 'pravachan' of their saint Manish Sisodia. It has been three days since they are using the Assembly for their publicity and not allowing Opposition to raise issues or question them," Mr Bidhuri told PTI over phone.
He said the party members were demanding a discussion on the liquor and education "scams", but the deputy speaker not only ignored their demands, but also got them marshalled out of the House.
"BJP members had given notices for discussion on liquor scam and education scam in the house even today. No explanation has come from the government till now on the liquor scam of thousands of crores," he said.
The Delhi government kept the CVC report on hold for two and a half years, despite it clearly stating about a scam in the construction of classrooms. "The Kejriwal government is running away from discussion on both these issues. The MLAs of the ruling party continued to create hue and cry in the well of the House, but it is unfortunate that the BJP members were thrown out to suppress their voice.
"The Kejriwal government has no answer to these allegations, so they are not tolerating the opposition even in the House," he said.
Mr Bidhuri said the MLAs will sit on a night-long protest for the second consecutive day near the statues of Chandrshekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh and Rajguru in the Assembly premises to demand a probe into various scams by the government ranging from the liquor to the DTC to the Jal Board scam. Mr Bidhuri said they have already written to President Droupadi Murmu over their "voices being throttled in Delhi Assembly" and have sought an appointment with her.
Earlier in the day, BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri had come to meet the party's eight MLAs who sat on a night-long protest but was stopped at the gate.
The Delhi Assembly's Secretariat had issued an order banning the entry of MPs and political party leaders in view of the tense situation prevailing due to the overnight protests by both the parties.