Overview
- The Privileges Committee granted a final opportunity for in-person statements on March 6 after Arvind Kejriwal skipped the February 16 hearing and called the summons “without jurisdiction.”
- Kejriwal proposed appearing between March 2 and 6, and the committee fixed March 6; Manish Sisodia, Ram Niwas Goel and Rakhi Birla also requested short extensions along similar dates.
- In a detailed reply, Kejriwal argued the matter pertains to the dissolved 7th Vidhan Sabha, cited Supreme Court rulings that limit legislative privilege, and termed the notices unconstitutional.
- The inquiry concerns whether a colonial-era ‘Tiffin Room’ inside the Assembly was wrongly presented as a ‘Faansi Ghar’ during an August 9, 2022 inauguration, a question referred by Speaker Vijender Gupta.
- Committee chair Pradyumn Singh Rajput said the date was set to prevent further delay and urged cooperation to enable a fair and comprehensive examination.