AAP–BJP face-off escalates amid CAG-backed corruption allegations

The political showdown between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) intensified on the second day of the Delhi assembly session, with accusations and counter-accusations flying thick.

While the BJP and its allied media alleged that the previous AAP government obstructed the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) from investigating 53 graft cases, AAP leaders hit back, claiming their MLAs were being forcibly kept out of the assembly premises.

The confrontation comes in the wake of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report, which revealed an alleged Rs 2,000 crore loss to the exchequer during the AAP’s tenure.

Today, 27 February, ahead of the third day of the new session under the BJP government, AAP MLAs staged a protest outside the assembly, alleging that they were being denied entry on the Speaker’s orders.

Leader of the Opposition Atishi, along with other AAP legislators, accused the police of blocking their way with barricades.

Taking to X, Atishi wrote, “AAP MLAs were suspended for three days for chanting ‘Jai Bhim.’ Today, they are not even being allowed to enter the Vidhan Sabha premises.”

Atishi slammed the Speaker’s decision, calling it “undemocratic and unconstitutional”.

She argued that even suspended MPs in Parliament are allowed to protest under the Gandhi statue, but here, AAP MLAs were being physically barred from the Delhi assembly premises. “We tried to speak to the Speaker, but nothing is being done,” she added.

Defending the Speaker’s decision, BJP leaders maintained that the disruptions caused by AAP MLAs had brought assembly proceedings to a halt.

Delhi minister Kapil Mishra stated, “No assembly in the country can function with such behaviour. For 10 years, the issues of Delhi have not been discussed here. The opposition must learn to conduct itself in a dignified manner.”

Delhi minister Parvesh Sahib Singh further criticised the AAP government’s handling of key infrastructure projects. “The cost of the Barapulla project has doubled because no minister followed up on it.”

On the contentious CAG report, Singh remarked, “We will expose the Rs 2,000 crore scam. An investigation will also be conducted into the ‘Sheeshmahal’ expenditure.”

Speaker Vijender Gupta had on 25 February extended the suspension of 21 AAP MLAs for three more days after they were marshalled out for protesting against the removal of Babasaheb Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh’s portraits from the chief minister’s office.

With both sides digging in their heels, the ongoing AAP–BJP clash in the Delhi assembly is far from over. While the BJP is leveraging corruption allegations to target AAP, the opposition is using its ouster from the assembly as a rallying cry against 'authoritarianism'.