Office of Profit Case: EC recommends disqualification of 20 MLAs, AAP moves Delhi HC

The Election Commission is learnt to have recommended to the President the disqualification of 20 AAP MLAs for allegedly holding office of profit.

In its opinion sent to President Ram Nath Kovind, the Election Commission said by being parliamentary secretaries, they held office of profit and were liable to be disqualified as MLAs of the Delhi Assembly, highly placed sources said.

The President is bound to go by the recommendation of the Commission. In cases where petitions are made seeking disqualification of lawmakers, the President sends a reference to the EC which decides on the case by sending back its opinion.

The party is however looking to challenge the EC's order in Delhi HC. The matter was urgently mentioned and hasbeen assigned to the court of Justice Rekha Palli. 

AAP MLAs Madan Lal, Nitin Tyagi and Rajesh Gupta are seeking a stay against the EC’s decision, saying the EC shouldn’t have taken a call while the main case was pending before Delhi HC. They also alleged that other than CEC Achal Joti the other two EC officers hadn’t heard the matter. They also alleged there were not given an opportunity to be heard by the EC.

AAP party moves Delhi High court challenging the EC order disqualifying 21 AAP MLAs. @dna

— Richa Banka (@RichaBanka) January 19, 2018

Taking a dig at Delhi Chief Minister, Kapil Mishra, the AAP rebel tweeted a short video clip. 

In the clip, he says that ‘greed of Kejriwal’ has cost 20 seats for AAP. ‘ Kejriwal is now in questionable position,’ he added.

 pic.twitter.com/SqmgSufBAb

— Kapil Mishra (@KapilMishra_IND) January 19, 2018

Earlier, Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken filed an objection to nomination of AAP's Rajya Sabha candidate N D Gupta for allegedly holding an office of profit.

In his objection filed with the retuning officer, Maken claimed that Gupta is "currently holding the office of a Trustee of the National Pension System Trust. He was appointed on March 30".

Gupta, along with two other Rajya Sabha candidates of the Aam Aadmi Party, Sanjay Singh and Sushil Gupta, had filed nomination papers on January 4. The scrutiny of the nominations is today.

"ND Gupta's nomination is liable to be rejected under Section 36 of Representation of Peoples Act, 1951 read with Article 102 of the Constitution," Maken claimed.

Meanwhile, the AAP said that Maken was trying to gain "cheap publicity" through "frivolous" objections as the law does not forbid trustees from contesting. 

"Section 3, clause (L) of Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act, 1959, gives exemption to trustee from disqualification under office of profit," AAP leader Raghav Chadha tweeted.

"Also, RO (returning officer) is not competent authority to adjudicate on OoP, EC is. Frivolous objections to gain cheap publicity by Congress," he added.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won a stunning victory in the 2015 Delhi Assembly elections, winning 67 out of 70 seats and thoroughly reversing a trend of unabated BJP wins in state elections over the past year. This is the biggest victory margin for any political party in Delhi since the first Assembly elections took place in 1993.

(This is developing story)