Delhi Assembly declines Kejriwal’s request of live streaming of privileges committee proceedings

The Delhi Assembly has written to former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal declining his request for live streaming of the proceedings of the Privileges Committee which has summoned the AAP chief on Friday in a matter related to the ‘Phaansi Ghar’.

The letter noted the Privileges Committee Chairperson’s surprise over Kejriwal’s “ignorance in this matter” even though he has been a member of the assembly for over 10 years and has attended several sittings of the Privilege Committee.

“I am directed by the Chairperson to inform that the proceedings of the Committee of Privileges are confidential and the Rules of Procedure do not permit for their live streaming,” the Delhi Assembly Secretariat’s letter read.

Further, there is no precedence of the sitting of the Committee of Privileges being telecast in the Parliament or other states, added the letter, which was made public on Friday.

“The Chairperson has also expressed his surprise over your ignorance in this matter in spite of being a former member of this House for more than ten years, when numerous sittings of the Committee of Privileges were held but not even a single sitting was ever telecast/ live streamed,” letter further said.

On Tuesday, Kejriwal wrote to the Privileges Committee confirming that he would appear before it on March 6 in the ‘Phansi Ghar’ issue and demanded the live-streaming of proceedings.

The Privileges Committee is examining the significance of a British-era ‘Phansi Ghar’ replicated inside the Delhi Assembly by the AAP government. The AAP claims that the building housed a secret gallows during the British rule while the BJP claims that it was only a tiffin room.