AAP accuses BJP, Cong of 'belittling' Delhi Assembly on its silver jubilee

The ruling AAP Friday lashed out at the opposition Congress and BJP, accusing them of making "petty-minded" attempts to "belittle" Delhi Assembly on its silver jubilee, after the two parties decided to boycott a function scheduled on December 15 to mark the occasion.

The Delhi Assembly is holding the function to mark the 25th anniversary of its first sitting on December 14, 1993.

AAP's chief spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj said it is a "cheap tactic" that some political parties have issued "loaded political statements" about a non-political commemorative event.

"At this juncture, it is important to place on record the petty-minded attempts by some political forces to belittle the successful evolution of the Delhi Legislative Assembly," he said in a statement.

The Delhi unit of the BJP and Congress Thursday went public with their decision to boycott the function.

Hitting out the two parties, Bhardwaj termed the Silver Jubilee of Delhi Assembly's first sitting a matter of pride for people of Delhi.

"Some leaders who have been rendered politically irrelevant by voters of Delhi are falsely claiming to have been elected as youngest MLAs, rendering unsolicited advice to the current Speaker," Bhardwaj said, referring to Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken.

Maken, claiming to be the youngest MLA and Speaker of the Delhi Assembly, had said that the current speaker should have formed an all-party committee to hold the Silver Jubilee function of the Assembly.

The AAP spokesperson also lashed out at BJP's Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta.

Bhardwaj said the Speaker should consider whether Gupta was "worthy" of holding the post of Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly as he was giving "factually incorrect" statements in the matter.

"These two parties, through their proxies, left no stone unturned in defaming the Delhi Assembly through falsehoods," he alleged.

Gupta had said BJP MLAs will boycott the function and accused the ruling AAP of throwing democratic values, the Constitution and Delhi Assembly Rules at wind during its four years at the helm.