MLAs disqualification: Truth prevails in the end, says Arvind Kejriwal

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which suffered a massive blow on Sunday with President Ram Nath Kovind approving the Election Commission's recommendation to disqualify 20 of its MLAs for holding offices of profit, described the development as "unconstitutional" and "dangerous for democracy". Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, reacting a little late, tweeted that his party will continue to tread on the path of truth with the grace of almighty.

Reacting sharply to the move, senior party leader Ashutosh said, "President's order to disqualify AAP MLAs is unconstitutional and dangerous for democracy."

On Friday, the Election Commission (EC) apprised the President that the 20 MLAs were liable for disqualification for holding offices of profit between March 2015 and September 2016. Petitioner Prashant Patel had opposed the appointment of AAP MLAs as Parliamentary Secretaries, which, according to him, was office of profit.

However, the AAP maintained that none of these MLAs enjoyed any salaries or perks while holding the office.

As per the rules, petitions to the President seeking disqualification of lawmakers are referred to the EC. The poll panel takes a decision and sends its recommendation to the Rashtrapati Bhavan, which is then accepted.

The 20 MLAs disqualified include, Adarsh Shastri (Dwarka), Alka Lamba (Chandni Chowk), Anil Bajpai (Gandhi Nagar), Avtar Singh (Kalkaji), Kailash Gahlot (Najafgarh) -- who is also a minister -- Madan Lal (Kasturba Nagar), Manoj Kumar (Kondli), Naresh Yadav (Mehrauli), Nitin Tyagi (Laxmi Nagar), Praveen Kumar (Jangpura).Others are: Rajesh Gupta (Wazirpur), Rajesh Rishi (Janakpuri), Sanjeev Jha (Burari), Sarita Singh (Rohtas Nagar), Som Dutt (Sadar Bazar), Sharad Kumar (Narela), Shiv Charan Goel (Moti Nagar), Sukhbir Singh (Mundka), Vijendar Garg (Rajinder Nagar) and Jarnail Singh (Tilak Nagar).

After the EC's verdict, the party had on Friday tried to seek interim relief from the Delhi High Court, demanding a stay on the electoral body's recommendation. The court, however, refused to provide relief to the AAP MLAs, and listed the matter for a hearing on Monday. In the meantime, the disqualified legislators have now pinned hope on the judiciary. Madanlal, one of the 20 disqualified MLAs, remained optimistic. "We are expecting relief from the court tomorrow," said Madanlal.