New Delhi: As Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Ram Niwas Goel and Rakhi Birla did not appear before the Delhi Assembly Committee of Privileges on Thursday in the ‘Faansi Ghar’ matter despite being given two opportunities, the committee said it will decide the future of action, Chairperson of the Committee Pradymun Singh Rajput said.
Speaker of Delhi Legislative Assembly Vijender Gupta had raised the matter concerning the authenticity of ‘Faansi Ghar’ inaugurated on August 9, 2022, within the Delhi Legislative Assembly premises, following which the Committee of Privileges was directed to investigate the issue further.
In the continuation of its ongoing inquiry, the Committee had scheduled a sitting specifically on Thursday to deliberate on the matter of the authenticity of ‘Faansi Ghar’.
The sitting was convened to advance the factual and procedural assessment required for a comprehensive examination of the circumstances surrounding the inauguration.
The Privileges Committee comprises Chairperson Pradyumn Singh Rajput, Surya Prakash Khatri, Abhay Kumar Verma, Ajay Kumar Mahawar, Satish Upadhyay, Neeraj Basoya, Ravi Kant, Ram Singh Netaji and Surender Kumar.
The Committee reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring transparency, accountability, and institutional integrity. It emphasised that cooperation from all concerned individuals is indispensable for the completion of a fair and comprehensive inquiry.
On the other hand The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government was “politicising” the Committee of Privileges of the 8th Delhi Legislative Assembly by convening a series special sittings and issuing issuing notices to former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, former Speaker Ram Niwas Goel and former Deputy Speaker Rakhi Birla in the so-called ‘Faansi Ghar’ matter, party said in a statement.
The AAP said the BJP government is weaponising legislative committees to divert attention from Delhi’s deepening environmental crisis and collapsing public services, AAP said in a press release.
In a statement, the AAP questioned the very basis of the Privilege Committee’s proceedings.
“The incident cited by the Privilege Committee occurred in August 2022 during the life of the 7th Legislative Assembly,” the party said, adding, “That Assembly was dissolved in February 2025. Once an Assembly is dissolved, its privileges and proceedings lapse. The 8th Legislative Assembly cannot initiate or continue privileged action on matters belonging to a previous term,” the party said.
The AAP cited the Supreme Court’s judgment in Amarinder Singh v. Punjab Vidhan Sabha (2010) and said the Privilege Committee’s actions are “legally unsustainable, procedurally untenable and driven solely by political motives”.
AAP said it is shocking that the BJP government held a special sitting of the Privilege Committee while ignoring Delhi’s escalating pollution crisis. “Doctors are now publicly advising families to leave Delhi if they have young children or elderly members,” the party said.
