Seven out of eight Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) were suspended on Friday for the remainder of the Budget session of the Delhi Assembly for allegedly interrupting Lieutenant Governor (LG) VK Saxena’s address.

On Thursday, they were marshalled out of the House for their unruly behaviour. According to the reports, the seven BJP MLAs were interrupting Governor Saxena during his address to the House as they sought to attack the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led-AAP government.

Taking cognisance of the matter, the Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel sent the matter of disruption to the Privileges Committee.

On the second day of the session, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Dilip Kumar Pandey and the party convenor Kejriwal whip in the Assembly. Pandey pointed out the disruption made by the BJP MLAs during the LG’s speech, he said MLAs have disrupted Saxena’s address marking the opening of the budget session at least eight times. He further said that such behaviour by the BJP MLAs amounted to lowering the dignity of the House.

AAP MLA Pandey, later moved a proposal that the matter be referred to the Delhi Assembly Privileges Committee, demanding the suspension of the seven BJP MLAs from the proceedings of the House, until the panel decides on the matter. Through a voice vote, the proposal was passed.

Despite several warnings from the Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel, BJP Vijender Gupta interrupted Saxena while he was citing the AAP’s achievements. Following this, the Speaker asked the House marshals to take Gupta out.

Later, when LG Saxena began his address, other leaders from the BJP party continued disrupting him as Saxena cited several Kejriwal government’s achievements.

After all this, the BJP MLAs defied the Goel and refrained from interrupting the Saxena’s address, to which the Speaker had to ask the marshals to take them out of the House too.

The House suspended seven BJP MLAs out of eight, the Leader of Opposition Ramvir Singh Bidhuri was not suspended, however, he walked out with other suspended BJP leaders in protest against the decision of the House to suspend its MLAs.

The Congress party on Friday claimed that all its bank accounts have been frozen by the Income Tax Department on flimsy grounds, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

The grand old party also claimed that it had no money to pay the salaries of its party workers as well as electricity bills.  

Addressing a press conference, Congress leader Ajay Maken informed that the banks have not been honouring the cheque that the party is issuing. Further investigation by the party revealed that the Youth Congress bank accounts had been frozen and accounts of the Congress party had also been seized.

Maken said Congress received the information on February 15 that banks were not honouring the cheque that the party was issuing. Furthermore, the IT asked for Rs 210 crore recovery from the Youth Congress and the Congress party. The crowdfunding money in the party’s accounts has been frozen, he added.

Asserting that, the Congres leader said that freezing the Opposition’s accounts barely two weeks before elections is equivalent to freezing democracy.

Hitting at the Modi-led central government, Maken said for the first time in the history of India, accounts of the principal Opposition party have been frozen by the tax authorities on flimsy grounds, barely two weeks before the announcement of Lok Sabha elections.

Meanwhile, Congress Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha on Friday appealed to the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) Court in Delhi after his party’s bank accounts were frozen.

Tankha informed the court about the action taken by the Income Tax Department and how it can affect the grand party before the Lok Sabha elections.

After hearing Tankha, the ITAT Court graciously informed that there would be only a lien and the party could operate bank accounts.

Taking to X, the Congress leader informed that the Indian National Congress can operate its bank accounts after they were frozen by the IT Department. He further informed that interim relief will be heard on Wednesday.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Friday joined Rahul Gandhi in his SUV as the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra resumed from Bihar’s Sasaram district. The Congress MP started his yatra this morning from the party’s local headquarters and is expected to arrive in Uttar Pradesh this evening via Mohania in the Kaimur district.

Yadav and Gandhi were spotted driving a red SUV, which was driven by the RJD chief. They were also observed waving to the excited crowds of people assembling along the town’s main route while perched on the slowly moving sports utility vehicle’s roof. On both sides of the street, locals gathered to watch the procession.

Both the leaders of the opposition Mahagathbandhan will speak at a public gathering in Kaimur on Friday at around 3 p.m. Gandhi spoke out in favor of the protesting farmers on Thursday at a gathering in Bihar’s Aurangabad. He compared the farmers to warriors who defend their nation by fighting on its borders.

The leader of the Congress party was alluding to the farmers’ Delhi Chalo protest march, which was organised to put pressure on the Center over their demands, which included forgiveness of loans and a minimum support price for crops.

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Since Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar abandoned his links with the INDIA alliance, this will be the first time the RJD leader will seen sharing stage with Rahul Gandhi in Bihar.

Meanwhile, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will join Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra as it enters Uttar Pradesh on Friday night. Once the yatra crosses within from Bihar into Uttar Pradesh, she will meet with her brother in Chandauli.

The 6,700-kilometer East-West Manipur-Mumbai Yatra travels through 15 states with the goal of promoting nyay (justice) and encountering common people along the journey.