New Delhi:
They were apparently not past the point of no return. The three BJP law-makers in the Delhi Assembly stood up today with placards accusing the government of ignoring a water crisis, then said they were leaving to accentuate their point.
Less than a minute later, they returned, to raise issue of attempts by the government to restrict media freedom.
The short-lived walk-out resulted in a ROFL moment from the rest of the law-makers, all of whom belong to Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The BJP members sportingly joined the chortling.
Yesterday, one of them, BJP lawmakers OP Sharma, was evicted from the House by marshals for getting aggressive during proceedings.
The two-day emergency session of the Assembly has been called by Mr Kejriwal's government in the midst of weapons-grade hostility with the centre and its representative in the capital, Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung.
Mr Kejriwal says the government, by endorsing Mr Jung with more authority, is trying to clamp down on his own. His claim has been emboldened by the Delhi High Court, which ruled earlier this week that a notification by the centre, enumerating considerable powers for the Lieutenant Governor, is "suspect". Sources say the centre is deciding whether to challenge that verdict in the Supreme Court.
The Assembly is expected today to announce that it will ignore the notification on the grounds that it is unconstitutional.