New Delhi, Jan 6 (IANS) Praising the martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur to uphold truth, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday said that her government will serve every citizen as a family member and nurture Delhi as “Mini India”, even as BJP MLAs accused AAP legislators of disrespecting Sikh Gurus and using “disrespectful language” in their context.
The Chief Minister was concluding a discussion on the second day of the Winter Session of the Delhi Assembly over a statement made by Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra on the Sikh Guru’s 350th Martyrdom anniversary when the opposition AAP MLAs insisted for holding a discussion on pollution in the city.
While Speaker Vijender Gupta dismissed their plea, reminding that a special discussion on pollution is listed later during the session, Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa and MLA Tarvinder Singh Marwah, along with other BJP MLAs, pointed out that AAP MLAs used “disrespectful language” while referring to Sikh Gurus.
The discussion ended with a clash between the treasury and opposition benches with Sirsa demanding a review of the video footage to punish the "guilty” AAP MLAs for disrespecting the Sikh Gurus.
On Sirsa’s request, Speaker Vijender Gupta said after reviewing the video footage, if needed, a motion to condemn the “disrespectful language" used by AAP MLAs will be taken up on Wednesday.
Earlier, the CM greeted citizens and Cabinet colleagues for the successful conduct of three-day congregation or ‘Gurmat Samagam’ near Red Fort in November.
Highlighting the Delhi government’s support for Kanwar Yatra, Ramlila and Durga Puja celebrations, she said as part of celebrating culture and traditions of all states, Chhath festival of Poorvanchal, Garba of Gujarat and Teej of Rajasthan were organised with honour during the 11 months to honour citizens from all parts of the country living here.
She said festivals like Onam and from other states in the South were also celebrated with fervour.
Earlier, five-time legislator and BJP MLA from Gandhi Nagar Arvinder Singh Lovely called for repair and revival of the Guru Tegh Bahadur memorial in Delhi so that it could host annual events to highlight the Sikh Guru’s sacrifice.
Lovely praised Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his understanding of the country’s history, sentiments and recognising the Sikh Gurus’ sacrifices and successful conduct of celebration on Guru Tegh Bahadur’s 350th martyrdom day.