Kejriwal, Sisodia skip privileges committee sitting on Phansi Ghar

New Delhi, Nov 20 (PTI) Former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and his then deputy Manish Sisodia skipped again on Thursday a sitting of the Assembly Privileges Committee to look into the authenticity of a phansi ghar (execution chamber) erected in the House premises three years ago.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said the committee was being used as a "political tool" to harass its leaders.

In a letter addressed to deputy secretary (legislation), Kejriwal said he had only been invited as a guest to inaugurate the phansi ghar on August 9, 2022.

"I attended the inauguration in August 2022 strictly as a guest at the invitation of the Speaker of the 7th Legislative Assembly. The Speaker is the custodian of the Assembly precincts. If the act of the Speaker in organising the inauguration is considered a legitimate exercise of his administrative authority or his privilege, it follows that my attendance as his invitee cannot be construed as a breach of privilege," Kejriwal said.

The privileges committee chairperson Pradyumn Singh Rajput said the panel has now decided to determine the further course of action.

"Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Ram Niwas Goel (the then Assembly Speaker) and Rakhi Birla (former deputy speaker) once again did not appear before the Committee of Privileges despite being given two opportunities to present their version on record," Rajput said.

Meanwhile, the AAP accused the BJP government of "weaponising" the privileges committee to target opposition leaders, to divert attention from Delhi's worsening pollution and governance crisis.

The party criticised the convening of special sittings and the issuance of notices to Kejriwal, Sisodia, Goel and Birla in the matter.

The party said the incident in question took place in August 2022 during the 7th Assembly, which was dissolved in February 2025. "Once an Assembly is dissolved, its privileges and proceedings lapse," the AAP said.

It said the "incorrect recording of events" and "unlawful reference" leave no doubt that the outcome is predetermined and intended to "harass AAP leaders".

Kejriwal, in his communication to the Assembly, said "it is untenable for the 8th Delhi Legislative Assembly to claim that accepting an invitation from the Speaker of the 7th Assembly constitutes a breach of privilege".

"In so far as the authenticity of (the structure) is concerned, I am sure there is material available in the House as well as on the files then maintained by the Assembly Secretariat on the administrative side, which can be perused. Being an administrative and internal matter of the then House, and as I had only been invited as a guest by the then Speaker at its inauguration, I have nothing further to add," Kejriwal said.

The current Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta had raised questions about the authenticity of the phansi ghar, inaugurated in August 2022, within the House premises. The Committee of Privileges was then directed to investigate the issue.

"In the continuation of its ongoing inquiry, the committee had scheduled a sitting specifically to deliberate on the matter of the authenticity of phansi 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 said in a statement.

The Privileges Committee comprises Pradyumn Singh Rajput, Surya Prakash Khatri, Abhay Kumar Verma, Ajay Kumar Mahawar, Satish Upadhyay, Neeraj Basoya, Ravi Kant, Ram Singh Netaji and Surender Kumar. PTI SLB RUK RUK