BJP, EC delayed AAP MLAs disqualification to help them: Congress

The Congress on Sunday accused the BJP and the Election Commission for delaying the disqualification of 20 MLAs of Delhi's ruling AAP in the office of profit case to help it get its nominees elected to the Rajya Sabha.

"The Election Commission and the BJP delayed the disqualification of 20 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs to help them.

"If decision would have come before December 22, then these 20 MLAs would have been disqualified. And thus they could not have voted in the Rajya Sabha election," Delhi Congress President Ajay Maken told media persons here soon after President Ram Nath Kovind approved the disqualification.

Hitting out at the AAP and the BJP, the former Union Minister alleged: "There was a deal between them that is the reason why their disqualification was delayed by over a month.

"On December 22, the Election Commission announced polls for three Rajya Sabha polls. And the poll panel only sent its recommendations to disqualify the 20 AAP MLAs to the President on January 19," he said, asking what had transpired between the BJP, AAP and the EC in this period.

Slamming Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwa for saying that they were not given proper hearing by the poll panel, Maken said: "The EC gave them 11 hearings. Even the High Court asked them to go to the EC instead of wasting their time in the court."

He also accused the AAP convenor for creating 21 new Parliamentary Secretaries post against seven as per the Constitution, alleging that it was only done "to benefit" the party legislators, as they also attended meetings on behalf of the ministers.

Maken, who had also moved a petition before the EC for their disqualification, also said that the Parliamentary Secretaries enjoyed all facilities of the government and he has given all the details of their expenditure.

The Congress leader also demanded Kejriwal's resignation saying that he has "no moral right to continue as the Chief Minister".

--IANS

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