Kejriwal to face summons over ‘fake’ phansi-ghar: Speaker

 New Delhi

Speaker Vijender Gupta on Thursday sought a detailed inquiry into the inauguration of a “fake” ‘phansi-ghar (execution room)’ by former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on the Delhi Assembly premises on August 9, 2022.

Mr. Gupta said the matter will be referred to the Privileges Committee, which will summon Mr. Kejriwal and three other senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders who oversaw the inauguration.

“In view of the seriousness of this matter, I am referring it to the Privileges Committee for an in-depth investigation,” Mr. Gupta said in the House.

“The committee shall summon the following individuals: Arvind Kejriwal, then Chief Minister; Ram Niwas Goel, then Speaker; Manish Sisodia, then Deputy Chief Minister; and Rakhi Birla, then Deputy Speaker. All of them were present during the inauguration of the so-called gallows,” he said.

The nine-member committee is headed by BJP legislator Pradyumn Singh Rajput and includes AAP MLAs Surender Kumar and Ram Singh Netaji.

‘No Red Fort tunnel’

Calling it a “distortion of heritage”, the Speaker said over ₹1 crore was spent on the construction and publicity of what was portrayed as an “execution chamber”. “This House has reached a decision that there was no phansi-ghar or any tunnel that goes from here to the Red Fort,” Mr. Gupta said.

He added that the signboard of the “fake” phansi-ghar would be removed and the Assembly premises would be restored according to official maps.

 Responding to Mr. Gupta’s call for a probe, AAP said it was unfortunate that a Speaker was setting a precedent by summoning a former Speaker before the Privileges Committee.

“The BJP has forgotten that the Speaker is meant to be the custodian of the privileges of the House and its members. Such practices weaken institutions. These frivolous, baseless matters will not withstand judicial scrutiny and will be set aside by the constitutional courts,” the Opposition party said.