Former Delhi’s Chief Minister Atishi Marlena Singh was appointed the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Delhi Assembly on Sunday. She has allegedly accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of being ‘Anti-Dalit’ and ‘Anti-Hindu’ over the removal of portraits of Shaheed Bhagat Singh and Dr. B.R Ambedkar from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).
On Monday, Atishi met with newly elected Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta at her office. After meeting her, Atishi addressed a press conference, alleging that the BJP-led government had removed portraits that were put up during the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) regime.
What Did Atishi Said?
In the press conference, Atishi said, “The anti-Dalit mentality of the Bharatiya Janata Party is well known. Today, a proof of its anti-Dalit mentality has been presented. Arvind Kejriwal had put up photos of Baba Saheb Ambedkar and Shaheed Bhagat Singh in every office of the Delhi government,”
She continued “Since BJP has come to power, BJP has removed both these photos from the Chief Minister’s office. This shows that the BJP is an anti-Dalit, anti-Sikh party,”
What was Arvind Kejriwal’s remark?
Backing up the statement of Atishi, AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal posted on X, “The new BJP government of Delhi removed Baba Saheb’s photo and put up the photo of Prime Minister Modi. This is not right. This has hurt millions of followers of Baba Saheb.”
He added, “I have a request to BJP. You can put the photo of the Prime Minister but do not remove the photo of Baba Sahib. Let his photo remain there.”
Updates on the Delhi Assembly Session
Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta was sworn in as a Member of the Delhi Legislative Assembly. According to the Delhi Assembly bulletin, Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena will speak to the House on February 25. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reports will then be tabled, followed by a motion of thanks at the LG’s address.
The debate on the motion will then start on February 26, and following that, the election for the Deputy Speaker will take place.