Phansi Ghar row: Delhi Assembly Speaker orders probe, Kejriwal to face privileges panel

New Delhi: Asserting that there was no 'Phansi Ghar' on Delhi Assembly premises, its Speaker Vijender Gupta said on Thursday that the matter will be referred to the Privileges Committee for inquiry that will summon former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, along with others.

Gupta had earlier told the House that the structure, which was renovated and inaugurated in 2022 by then chief minister Kejriwal as a "Phansi Ghar" (execution room), was actually a "tiffin room" as per records.

Displaying a 1912 map of the assembly complex, he had said on Wednesday that there was no documentation or evidence indicating that the space was used for executions.

Giving directions on the matter on Thursday, Gupta said he has referred the matter for inquiry to the Privileges Committee.

"The committee will summon former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, his deputy Manish Sisodia, the then Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel, former deputy speaker Rakhi Birla," he said.

He reiterated his allegation that "falsehood" was spread in the name of Phansi Ghar and history was distorted.

The Speaker said he had given the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) time to present "concrete facts and documents" in support of their claims of the existence of Phansi Ghar, but they had failed to do so.

"The plaque bearing Kejriwal and Sisodia's names outside Phansi Ghar will be removed. The 1912 map depicting it as tiffin room will also be displayed," he said in the House.

There was no immediate reaction from AAP.

Gupta, who was among the opposition members during the AAP rule, said that when the Kejriwal government had announced that there was an "execution room", they used to revere it as a site of martyrdom.

"After three days of discussion, and in the absence of any concrete evidence, documents provided by the National Archives, Indian Council of Historical Research and IGNCA have confirmed that no Phansi Ghar (execution chamber) was ever constructed at the site.

"When we were in the opposition, we were led to believe that there was an execution room here. We were also emotionally connected to the site," he recalled.

However, after becoming the Speaker, he conducted a thorough research and it was discovered that the structure in question was actually a 'tiffin ghar' (lunch room), which was "deeply upsetting", Gupta said.

"History was distorted and they played with the feelings of people. This is all deceit. People won't forgive them for this," he said.

Delhi's environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said it was "highly condemnable" that a place where people would have consumed non-vegetarian food was called 'Phansi Ghar', where freedom fighters attained martyrdom.

Earlier, AAP had said that the BJP was trying to shield the British by saying that there was no execution room.

The Delhi Assembly building, located on Old Secretariat Road, was built in 1912 for the Imperial Legislative Council when Delhi became the capital.

After various administrative uses post-independence, it became the seat of the Delhi Legislative Assembly in 1993.