A day after the Election Commission recommended the disqualification of 20 of its MLAs, the Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday claimed that its legislators were not allowed to present their version of affairs.
The AAP referred to a June 2017 order of the EC that stated it would call the 20 MLAs of the party in the Delhi Vidhan Sabha for a hearing before it decided on whether they were in violation of the office of profit rule on account of their appointment as parliamentary secretaries.
“On June 23, 2017, the Election Commission had in its order stated that our MLAs would be called for hearing. However, yesterday (Friday), the Commission scrapped their membership of the Assembly without any notice,” said AAP leader Gopal Rai.
The party released a copy of the Commission's order, which was signed by then Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi and then Election Commissioner A.K. Joti. The final point mentioned in the order reads, “The Commission will intimate the next date of hearing to all the concerned parties in the present proceedings in due course.”
Zaidi had retired in the meantime, and Joti took over as CEC. The Commission's recommendation to disqualify 20 of the AAP MLAs as it found them guilty of holding offices of profit was made on Friday, just days before Joti demits office as CEC. Joti is due to retire on January 22.
The issue of the Commission not giving the MLAs a chance to present their version is one of the key points that the AAP legislators have raised in their petition before the Delhi High Court, in which they have challenged their disqualification.
“Even during British rule, the accused were heard, even if the British rulers only carried out a drama of giving a fair hearing. However, in Modi raj, nobody has the right to even present his side of the story,” Rai said.
The AAP claims that the Commission, under Joti, has acted under the pressure of the Modi government and done its bidding in disqualifying the party MLAs.
AAP leaders also claimed that parliamentary secretaries are drawing salaries in lakhs in other states, and the party had complained against it to the President, but the Election Commission has not taken any action in this regard so far.
According to them, when the Delhi government took the decision to appoint parliamentary secretaries, the order clearly stated that they will not be given remuneration of even one rupee.
The Delhi High Court, which heard the petition of the disqualified AAP MLAs, will take up the case on Monday after there is clarity on whether the President has given his assent to the Commission's recommendation.
The AAP is hoping for a stay on the EC's recommendation. If it goes through, Delhi could see a mini-Assembly election within six months, with the seats held by the 20 MLAs having bypolls.
