Phansi Ghar row: Delhi Assembly adopts resolution warning former CM Kejriwal, others

The Delhi Assembly on Friday passed a resolution issuing a formal warning to former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, former Speaker Ram Niwas Goel, and former Deputy Speaker Rakhi Birla in connection with the ‘Phansi Ghar’ misinformation and contempt of the House.

Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta noted that while the House has the authority to award stringent punishment, including imprisonment, it has chosen to exercise judicial restraint by issuing this formal warning to uphold the dignity of the legislature.

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The resolution was adopted after contempt of the House was established and for propagating a “manufactured and baseless narrative” regarding the presence of a ‘Phansi Ghar’ (execution room) within the Assembly premises.

Addressing the House, Gupta expressed deep concern over the “manufactured narrative” of a ‘Phansi Ghar’ within the Assembly premises, clarifying that associating the building, which has a significant past, with an execution chamber is a disservice to its true history.

“The House is deliberating on this matter with utmost seriousness. The contempt has been established. While no court in India can grant relief in matters of legislative privilege, we are proceeding in accordance with the dignity of this institution,” Speaker Gupta added.

He reminded members that the House is not merely a building, but a sanctuary of the country’s freedom struggle, highlighting several historical facts.

Gupta shared that this is the only legislative chamber ever visited by Mahatma Gandhi to witness proceedings.

According to the Speaker, in his autobiography, ‘The Story of My Experiments with Truth’ (Page 396), Gandhi recounts listening to the Rowlatt Bill debate in the same building in March 1919.

He further stated that the infamous Rowlatt Act was passed in this very House on March 18, 1919, and that after witnessing the proceedings, Mahatma Gandhi had launched the Non-Cooperation Movement.

Gupta also criticised the previous neglect of Delhi’s rural martyrs, while “fake stories” about execution rooms were being circulated.

He presented historical evidence of the 1918 War Conference held in the House, where 13 lakh Indians were recruited for World War I.

The Speaker shared records of memorial stones from villages like Bawana, Kanjhawala, Alipur, Badli, Najafgarh, and Mehrauli, documenting the sacrifice of hundreds of rural youth.

According to Gupta, the Committee’s third report will specifically address the “lies spread regarding the Phansi Ghar,” while he reaffirmed that the Assembly Secretariat and the Committee of Privileges would ensure that the sanctity of the House is never compromised.