Delhi Assembly's ethics committee recommends expelling BJP MLA OP Sharma
The panel recommended ending his House membership after he remained ‘unrepentant’ of making derogatory remarks against AAP legislator Alka Lamba.
The Delhi Assembly's ethics committee on Wednesday unanimously recommended terminating Bharatiya Janata Party MLA OP Sharma’s membership of the House because of offensive remarks he made against Aam Aadmi Party legislator Alka Lamba five months ago and being unrepentant about it. In its report tabled in the House, the nine-member committee called Sharma a “habitual offender”, adding that his statement “raat bhar ghoomne wali (a woman who stays out all night)” was used in a defamatory sense against Lamba and amounted to character assassination, PTI reported.
The BJP lawmaker, whom Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel had suspended last November for using derogatory language against Lamba, rubbished the panel’s recommendation, saying it was “biased and politically motivated”. He also accused the AAP of misusing its majority in the House. On Thursday, Sharma may be given a last chance to apologise when the report will be brought up for discussion in the House.
In February, Sharma was caught on camera beating an activist of the Communist Party of India at the Patiala House court complex where Jawaharlal Nehru student leader Kanhaiya Kumar was being produced. He was arrested for the assault days later, but later released on bail. The committee’s report further noted that Sharma held the record for “being named by the Speaker the most number of times for indecorous conduct in the House”.