Disqualify 20 AAP MLAs in office-of-profit case, Maken urges CEC

Delhi Congress President Ajay Maken on Thursday met Chief Election Commissioner Achal Kumar Joti and demanded the disqualification of 20 AAP MLAs at the earliest for allegedly holding offices of profit as Parliamentary Secretaries.

Maken also submitted a representation on the matter to Joti.

After the meeting, a Delhi Congress leader said that Maken apprised the CEC of the delay in the matter since it dates back to May 2015.

"The CEC assured to look into the issue," he said. The meeting between Maken and the CEC lasted around 20 minutes.

The Congress had on June 9, 2016, moved the poll panel to seek disqualification of 21 AAP MLAs and has been pursing the matter ever since.

Subsequently, the proceedings were dropped against Jarnail Singh after he resigned as the Rajouri Garden MLA to contest the Punjab Assembly polls in February 2017.

In October last year, the EC had issued a notice to the Aam Aadmi Party lawmakers for an explanation.

In June 2017, the EC rejected the MLAs pleas to drop the "office of profit" case against them and ruled that the disqualification proceedings against them will continue.

In March 2015, the AAP government passed an amendment to the Delhi Members of Legislative Assembly (Removal of Disqualification) Act, 1997, to exempt the posts of Parliamentary Secretary from the definition of office of profit with retrospective effect.

However, then President Pranab Mukherjee refused to give assent, following which the appointments were set aside by the Delhi High Court in September 2016, which declared them illegal since the order had been passed "without concurrence/approval of the Lt Governor".

--IANS

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