New Delhi (Gurpreet Singh): The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has threatened to boycott the upcoming Budget session of the Delhi Assembly, scheduled to begin on Monday, March 23, 2026. Addressing a press conference on Sunday, Leader of Opposition Atishi declared that none of the 22 AAP legislators would participate in the proceedings unless the suspension of four party MLAs—Sanjeev Jha, Kuldeep Kumar, Somdutt, and Jarnail Singh—is immediately revoked by Speaker Vijender Gupta.
Atishi, the former Chief Minister, accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of “muzzling” the opposition through the tactical use of privilege notices and long-term suspensions. She revealed that she alone has been served with four privilege notices and claimed that suspended members were even removed from the official WhatsApp group for the 70 Delhi legislators. According to Atishi, the treatment of these MLAs, particularly their exclusion from committee meetings and draft reports, is “unconstitutional” and a direct hit to democratic values.
In a sharp rebuttal, Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva dismissed the boycott threat, stating that Atishi is unable to “digest” an Assembly that focuses on transacting actual legislative business rather than providing a platform for political speeches. He noted that under the current BJP government, led by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, the House has successfully passed several bills and addressed critical public issues. The BJP, which holds a significant majority with 48 seats following the February 2025 elections, maintains that the suspensions were a result of “disruptive” conduct by the AAP members during previous sittings.
The Budget session is slated to begin with the tabling of Delhi’s Economic Survey, followed by the presentation of the annual budget by CM Rekha Gupta on March 24. Atishi warned that if the voice of the opposition continues to be suppressed within the House, the AAP will “take to the streets with lakhs of people” across their constituencies to protest.
