Somnath Bharti, Rakhi Birla misusing stature, says BJP and Congress leaders

NEW DELHI: Controversies surrounding ministers Somnath Bharti and Rakhi Birla dominated the debate in the assembly on Tuesday. Opposition leaders said CM Arvind Kejriwal should "restrain" his ministers who are embarrassing the government by "misusing their stature".

Citing a TOI report on law minister Somnath Bharti's decision to convene a meeting with Delhi district court judges, BJP leader Sahib Singh Chouhan demanded a public apology from the minister for 'exceeding his powers'. Bharti, however, stayed away from the assembly for the greater part of the session, particularly when he was being attacked. BJP's five-time MLA Jagdish Mukhi also sought an apology from Bharti on the issue.

Terming Bharti's act dishonourable, Congress leader and Ballimaran MLA Haroon Yusuf said, "Something like this has never happened before. It raises questions in the people's minds".

The opposition also criticized women and child development minister Rakhi Birla for "making an issue" out of a small thing. Birla on Sunday had lodged an FIR claiming someone had attacked her car. It was later found that a cricket ball had hit the car, and a boy claimed he had already apologized to her for the damage.

"Rakhi Birla is the new 'Gabbar' of her area. By filing an FIR against a child's act, madam, you have exposed your stand on VIP culture. You must accept that your FIR on such a petty issue was registered by police because you are a minister," said Mohd Asif, Congress MLA from Okhla. Birla grinned through the attack.