BJP MLA suspended for Delhi assembly's winter session

New Delhi: Delhi assembly on Thursday witnessed a ruckus by ruling Aam Aadmi Party's legislators who disrupted proceedings and unanimously voted to suspend BJP lawmaker O.P. Sharma for his sexist remark about AAP leader Alka Lamba for the entire winter session.

The winter session was extended till December 4 from earlier November 28 for the passage of the Jan Lokpal bill. Loud protests from six women legislators of the AAP, including Lamba, and their male colleagues led to the adjournment of the house twice.

Consequently, no business was conducted in the first two hours.Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was not present since he was indisposed. Although the assembly passed two resolutions to suspend Sharma for the rest of the winter session and refer the matter to the ethics committee of the assembly, AAP lawmakers demanded he be sent to jail.

"We will not budge from our demand. He must be sent to jail and disqualified (from assembly membership)," Lamba said. Her colleague Rakhi Birla said, "Narrow-minded people like Sharma should not be in the state assembly but in jail."

They gathered around assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel's podium and shouted slogans every time the proceedings resumed. The women legislators even sat near the table reserved for officials associated with the house proceedings.

After Goel failed to placate the visibly agitated MLAs, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia urged them, especially Lamba, to have faith in the ethics committee which, he said, would table the report soon. The development took place after the two other BJP members in the house, Vijender Gupta and Jagdish Pradhan, walked out in protest against Goel's decision to reject their privilege motion alleging that AAP legislators tried to attack Sharma in the assembly.

Sharma's November 24 remark against Lamba in the assembly initially led to his suspension from the house till Thursday.

PTI