Big blow for Delhi CM Kejriwal: EC says disqualify 20 AAP MLAs
Friday, 19 January 2018 (15:11 IST)
New Delhi: The Election Commission on Friday held a meeting to decide the fate of the 20 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs on the 'office of profit' case.According to sources, the poll panel held a marathon meeting to deliberate on the petition in the 'office of profit' case against the 20 AAP MLAs.
The sources said the EC has sent its recommendations to President Ram Nath Kovind in the matter.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.
On August 29, EC had completed hearing in the case and reserved its decision on the matter.The legislators had been called for a hearing against the complaint of their holding of posts of Parliament Secretaries 'unconstitutionally'. They have been in a deep trouble after the then President Pranab Mukherjee on June 13 withheld his assent to the Parliamentary Secretaries Bill, aimed at giving exemption to these lawmakers appointed by the Arvind Kejriwal government as Parliamentary Secretaries.
The Bill was brought by the AAP government in the Delhi Assembly last year to avert the eventuality of disqualification of these MLAs. Opposition parties BJP (UNI)
