Delhi Speaker suspends 12 AAP MLAs over protest demanding Kapil Mishra's resignation

Twelve AAP MLAs were suspended from the Delhi Assembly on the final day of the first Budget Session of the newly formed eighth Assembly for staging a protest demanding the resignation of Delhi Law and Justice Minister Kapil Mishra.

The protest started the day after a court ordered that Mishra be charged with involvement in the 2020 Delhi riots.

Speaker Vijender Gupta suspended twelve opposition MLAs, including Atishi, Kuldeep Kumar, Sanjeev Jha, Mukesh Ahlawat, Surendra Kumar, Jarnail Singh, Aaley Mohammed Iqbal, Anil Jha, Vishesh Ravi, Som Dutt, Sahi Ram, and Prem Chauhan, after AAP lawmakers stormed into the House with placards and slogans.

Atishi, the protest leader, charged that Mishra was being protected by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). "All of the riot suspects are behind bars. Why does Kapil Mishra not have a jail sentence?" she told PTI Videos. "The BJP is shielding him from our demands for his resignation."

"The court has ordered an FIR against Kapil Mishra, who is responsible for the deaths of 53 people in the Delhi riots," the AAP stated in a Hindi post on X. "However, Delhi Police and the BJP government are working to save Kapil Mishra, and the chief minister is not asking for Kapil Mishra's resignation."

Speaker Gupta gave the assembly secretary instructions to confirm whether the suspended MLAs were still on the premises and protesting in violation of the suspension order.

At the beginning of the eighth Assembly's first session on March 3, Speaker Gupta declared that any MLA who is suspended or marshalled out must leave the Vidhan Sabha premises completely.

The decision resolves a disagreement about whether the suspended lawmakers could remain in the Leader of the Opposition's office and the premises within the Assembly compound.

The protest comes after Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Vaibhav Chaurasia's court decision on Tuesday, which determined that Mishra had a "prima facie" case for investigation. Delhi Police was mandated by the court to submit a compliance report by April 16.

Mohammad Ilyas, a resident of Yamuna Vihar, filed a complaint alleging that Mishra was complicit in the communal violence that broke out in northeast Delhi on February 24, 2020, leaving 53 people dead and numerous others injured. This complaint is the basis for the judicial proceedings.

However, Delhi Police rejected the petition, claiming that Mishra was not involved in the riots and that this was an attempt to put the blame on him.