New Delhi: The political confrontation between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has intensified sharply over the controversial video clip related to Leader of Opposition Atishi, with AAP Delhi President Saurabh Bhardwaj strongly defending the FIR registered by Punjab Police against BJP minister Kapil Mishra.
Responding to objections raised by Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta, who argued that the video in question is the “property of the Assembly” and therefore protected under legislative privilege, Bhardwaj categorically rejected the claim, calling it “legally unsustainable.”
Bhardwaj clarified that once the Delhi Assembly Secretariat officially telecasts proceedings live and uploads the video on public platforms such as YouTube, the footage enters the public domain. “The Assembly is accountable to the public, and the government is accountable to the Assembly. Once the video is public, citizens have the right to view, criticise or analyse it,” he said.
The AAP leader alleged that Kapil Mishra deliberately doctored the video clip by adding words that were never spoken in the House and attributed them to Atishi. According to Bhardwaj, the added text amounted to a serious insult to Sikh religious sentiments, particularly targeting revered Sikh Guru Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib.
विधानसभा की कार्यवाही की अगर कोई फ़र्ज़ी वीडियो बनाकर पोस्ट करता है तो उस पर आपराधिक मामला बनता है।और अपराध पर FIR दर्ज़ होनी ही चाहिए ।
— Saurabh Bharadwaj (@Saurabh_MLAgk) January 10, 2026
इस फ़र्ज़ी वीडियो को जिसने भी ट्वीट किया है या प्रचारित किया है , उसके ख़िलाफ़ आपराधिक मामला बनता है ।
ये क़ानूनी रूप से ठीक है । pic.twitter.com/u748YBWZJJ
“This is not a question of privilege. This is a clear case of forgery, misinformation, religious provocation and blasphemy. The act goes far beyond political criticism and attracts serious criminal offences, many of them non-bailable,” Bhardwaj asserted.
Addressing the Speaker’s objection that Punjab Police could not initiate legal action while the matter is pending before the Delhi Assembly’s Privilege Committee, Bhardwaj argued that legislative privilege and criminal law operate independently. He cited precedents such as the 2G scam and Coalgate cases, where parliamentary discussions and criminal investigations ran simultaneously.
“Criminal offences cannot be stalled simply because a legislative committee is examining a related issue. That is not how the law works,” he said.
Bhardwaj also disclosed that the Delhi Assembly Speaker’s Secretariat has issued three notices—to the Punjab DGP, the Jalandhar Police Commissioner and the Cyber Cell—seeking clarification on why legal action was initiated. However, he maintained that the FIR remains legally valid.
Also Read: Sikh Insult Controversy: Delhi Assembly Slaps 48-Hour Deadline on Punjab Police Over Kapil Mishra FIR
Issuing a strong warning, the AAP leader stated that if any individual—including the Speaker himself—were to publicly endorse or re-circulate the allegedly doctored video while claiming it to be authentic, criminal liability could extend to them as well.
With both parties hardening their positions, the Atishi video controversy has now escalated into a full-blown Delhi-Punjab political and legal showdown, with religion, legislative privilege and criminal law intersecting at the centre of the storm.
