AAP’s Alka Lamba marshalled out of Delhi Assembly

Aam Aadmi Party's rebel MLA Alka Lamba was marshalled out of the Delhi Assembly on the orders of Speaker Ram Niwas Goel on Friday. At the time of her ejection, Lamba, the MLA from Chandni Chowk, was criticising the Delhi government and alleged that at least two families had been forced to purchase medicines from private chemists while they were being treated at the capital’s government-run G.B. Pant Hospital.

New Delhi: Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel on Friday marshalled Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) rebel legislator Alka Lamba out of the House.
At the time of her ejection, Lamba, the MLA from Chandni Chowk, was criticising the Delhi government and alleged that at least two families had been forced to purchase medicines from private chemists while they were being treated at the capital’s government-run G.B. Pant Hospital.

Lamba, who is not on the same page as the party, said that while the Delhi government has been claiming that people in the city were being given free medical facilities and medicines, families, however, were being forced to take loans for treatment in government hospitals.

Lamba raised the issue in the Assembly as a Special Mention.

Speaking to ETV Bharat, Lamba said, "For 55 months, they didn't have any problem with my voice being the people's voice. Everytime there was a topic to be discussed in the Assembly, my name would be the first one to be suggested as a speaker on the topic. Today, I was allowed to speak only after presenting proof in the assembly. When they realised that their tactic had backfired, they decided to get me marshalled out of the assembly.

"There cannot be a bigger misfortune for me," added the rebel MLA.

Responding to her claim, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said he would look into the matter, adding that the hospital in question is under heavy load of patients as it also caters to people from neighbouring Uttar Pardesh.

He said people have to wait in queue to get medicines, at times, for as long as six hours.

At this point, while the Speaker asked Lamba to conclude on the topic as the Minister had given his assurance on the matter, Lamba continued to raise the issue.

After requesting her several times to take her seat while she continued speaking, the Speaker ordered her to be marshalled out of the House untill the tea break.

AAP MLA Lamba has been vocal against her party since last year. She has also announced that she will contest the next Assembly polls as an independent candidate.

Earlier in the day, Goel suspended BJP MLA and Leader of Opposition, Vijender Gupta, for the duration of the session for using “unparliamentary language” in the House.

As soon as the session started, Gupta led fellow Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs O.P. Sharma, Jagdish Pradhan and Majinder Singh Sirsa in creating a ruckus in the House, demanding a discussion on the abrogation of the constitutional Article 370 that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir.