New Delhi: The Delhi Assembly on Friday warned former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and two other AAP leaders for contempt of the House and propagating a “manufactured and baseless narrative” regarding a ‘Phansi Ghar’ (Execution Room) within the legislature’s premises.
The warning was issued by way of passing a resolution in the Delhi Legislative Assembly under Rule 77(1)(a), an official said, adding that warnings were also issued to former Speaker Ram Niwas Goyal and former Deputy Speaker Rakhi Birla.
Speaker Vijender Gupta noted that while the House possesses the supreme authority to award stringent punishment, including imprisonment, it has chosen to exercise judicial restraint by issuing this formal warning to uphold the dignity of the legislature.
Addressing the House on the gravity of the situation, the Speaker expressed deep concern over the “manufactured narrative” of a ‘Phansi Ghar’ within the Assembly premises.
He clarified that associating this glorious building with an execution chamber is a disservice to its true history.
“The House is deliberating on this matter with absolute justice. The contempt has been proven. While no court in India can grant relief in matters of legislative privilege, we are proceeding based on the dignity of this institution,” he said, referring to the findings of the Committee of Privileges.
Gupta reminded the members that this House is not merely a building but a sanctuary of India’s freedom struggle.
Highlighting several landmark historical facts, he said that this is the only legislative chamber Gandhi Ji ever visited to witness proceedings.
In his autobiography, The Story of My Experiments with Truth (Page 396), he recounts listening to the Rowlatt Bill debate here in March 1919.
Gupta said that the infamous Rowlatt Act was passed in this very House on March 18, 1919. It was after witnessing these proceedings that Mahatma Gandhi launched the Non-Cooperation Movement.
The Speaker noted that the brutal firing on peaceful protesters at Chandni Chowk on March 30, 1919, which Gandhi Ji described as a precursor to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, was a direct fallout of the decisions made within these walls.
Gupta criticised the previous neglect of Delhi’s rural martyrs while “fake stories” of execution rooms were being circulated.
He presented historical evidence of the 1918 War Conference held in the House, where 13 lakh Indians were recruited for World War I.
He shared records of stones (memorials) from villages like Bawana, Kanjhawala, Alipur, Badli, Najafgarh, and Mehrauli, documenting the hundreds of rural youths who sacrificed their lives.
Gupta said that a third report from the Committee will specifically address the “lies spread regarding the Phansi Ghar.”
He reaffirmed that the Assembly Secretariat and the Committee of Privileges would ensure that the sanctity of the House is never compromised by misinformation or the defiance of officials.
(IANS)
