Even as the disqualification will not endanger the Arvind Kejriwal government, the party has claimed that Chief Election Commissioner AK Jyoti is trying to destabilise its government at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) received a massive blow on Friday when the Election Commission (EC) recommended to President Ram Nath Kovind that 20 legislators of the party be disqualified for holding the offices of profit as Parliamentary Secretaries. If the President approves the EC's recommendation, by-elections will have to be held in the Capital.
Seven of these MLAs quickly moved the Delhi High Court, but to no avail. The court refused to grant interim relief to the legislators and posted the matter to be heard on Monday.
Even as the disqualification will not endanger the Arvind Kejriwal government, the party has claimed that Chief Election Commissioner AK Jyoti is trying to destabilise its government at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The ruling AAP has a giant majority in the 70-member Delhi Assembly with 66 seats.
“A K Jyoti served as the principal secretary and then chief secretary of Gujarat under the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi. He is going to retire on Monday. So he wants to repay the debts he owes to PM. He is exploiting the constitutional institution to serve the purpose,” alleged AAP’spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a late tweet said, “The path of truth and honesty is marred by many obstacles, which is inevitable. But the universe and almighty conspires in favour of the righteous. Time is proof that truth always triumphs in the end because we are dedicated towards serving the nation and the society, and not our personal gains.”
The EC, however, alleged that these MLAs, including minister Kailash Gahlot and high profile MLA Alka Lamba, by occupying the post of parliamentary secretaries between March 13, 2015, and September 8, 2016, held ‘Office of Profit’. The Constitution prohibits MPs and MLAs from holding any office of profit, which means accepting government positions that carry some financial remuneration or any other benefit.
The legislators rejected the charges. “I did not take even a penny or enjoy any privileges. One can file an RTI and check. We are not afraid of by-elections because we have full confidence in democracy. The irony is, the BJP-led states, including Rajasthan, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur are allowed to have parliamentary secretaries but Delhi isn’t,” said Chandni Chowk MLA Alka Lamba.
Senior AAP leader Ashutosh also took to Twitter and criticised the move. "The EC should not be the letter box of the PMO. But that is the reality today," he tweeted.
Meanwhile, suspended AAP MLA Kapil Mishra said that there will be a new government in Delhi soon. “By moving to the high court, Kejriwal wants to delay elections on 20 seats. Soon there will be re-elections on these 20 seats. And, there will be a new government after that,” he said.
Soon after sweeping the Delhi elections in 2015, the AAP had appointed 21 legislators as Parliament Secretaries. Following which, a lawyer Prashant Patel had appealed to the President against the move alleging
that it violated constitutional provisions and the President had sent the matter to the EC.
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