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Big blow to AAP

Indian EC recommends disqualification of 20 M LAs for holding 'office of profit'

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In a big setback for the AamAadmi Party (AAP), the Indian Election Commission yesterday recommended that 20 of its MLAs be disqualified for holding 'office of profit'.
The EC has sent its recommendation to the president for his assent, which he's fully expected to give. 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.
In the current scenario, the petition was directed at 21 MLAs, but one had resigned.
The disqualification of the legislators is expected to pave the way for byelections in Delhi.
The controversy over the "office of profit" started soon after the party's victory in the 2015 Assembly elections in Delhi. A petition filed by lawyer Prashant Patel sought the disqualification of the MLAs on the grounds that they were holding an 'office of profit' as parliamentary secretaries.
The MLAs' pleas that the case against them be dropped were rejected by the EC in June 2017.
In August 2017, the MLAs appealed to the Delhi high court asking it to not allow the EC taking up the Delhi lawyer's petition. They argued that their appointments to the post of parliamentary secretary were already quashed, in 2016.
In turn, the Delhi high court said it couldn't accept the MLAs' plea, because the EC hadn't at the time begun to hear the issue.
With the AAP in crisis, the Congress and BJP promptly mounted stinging attacks on the Delhi government and asked Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to quit too.
Chief Minister Kejriwal will be firmly in the seat even after losing 30 per cent of his lawmakers when the presidential approval to the Election Commission's recommendation comes in.
So the opposition strategy in Delhi is to underscore the office of profit clause to dent the credibility of the national capital's ruling party.
"Arvind Kejriwal has no right to
continue", Ajay Maken, the Delhi Congress president who was also among the first to campaign against AAP lawmakers, accusing them of violating the constitutional provision.
"Half of his cabinet ministers were removed on corruption charges. Now, 20 MLAs who were enjoying ministerial perks would be disqualified," Maken said.
The lawmakers of the AamAadmi Party face disqualification after the Election Commission told the President that they had violated the constitutional provision that bars a lawmaker from holding any post in the government that is capable of yielding a profit. In principle, the office of profit provision seeks to ensure that legislators are not influenced by the executive and it does not matter if they profited from the office. An entitlement to get a salary or perks is enough for disqualification.
At the BJP's national headquarters a few kilometres away, a similar argument was presented by the BJP that fielded Sambit Patra.
" 15 AAP MLAs of have cases against them. Few are on bail and some of the MLAs are in jail. Shouldn't Mr Arvind Kejriwal resign?" Mr Patra said, counting AAP among the country's most corrupt parties and its leader Arvind Kejriwal, an autocrat.