Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel on Friday said he will allow the 20 AAP MLAs, embroiled in the office-of-profit controversy, to attend the ongoing Budget session in the wake of the high court setting aside their disqualification in the case.
Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel on Friday said he will allow the 20 AAP MLAs, embroiled in the office-of-profit controversy, to attend the ongoing Budget session in the wake of the high court setting aside their disqualification in the case.
The AAP MLAs present in the House welcomed the Speaker's decision by thumping the desks and chanted "Bharat Mata ki Jai".
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also hailed the order saying "It is a victory of truth".
In a major relief to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Delhi High Court on Friday set aside the disqualification of its 20 MLAs in the office-of-profit case.
A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and Chander Shekhar said that the Election Commission's recommendation was bad in law and remanded their plea back to the poll panel which will hear it afresh.
HC said there was a violation of natural justice and no oral hearing was given to AAP MLAs before disqualifying them as legislators.
Reacting on the high court order, Congress's Delhi unit president Ajay Maken tweeted, "We will fight it out in the Election Commission again as these 20 MLAs have enjoyed perks. HC has not disputed or denied this. The HC has just asked ECI to look at it again in the light of natural justice!"
Maken claimed that the AAP government itself had admitted before the Election Commission that a huge amount was spent on office, furniture, transportation and perks for these MLAs who worked as parliamentary secretaries.
Earlier, in a blow to the AAP, the EC had in January asked President Ram Nath Kovind to disqualify 20 of its MLAs for holding the office of profit, setting the stage for their ouster from the Assembly.
In its opinion sent to the president, the poll panel said the MLAs, by occupying the post of Parliamentary Secretaries between March 13, 2015, and September 8, 2016, held the office of profit and were liable to be disqualified as legislators.
The president had approved the EC's recommendation and ordered disqualification of the MLAs.
(With inputs from agencies)
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