Will respond to Election Commission notice, say AAP MLAs

A day after the Election Commission issued show-cause notices to 27 AAP MLAs on a petition seeking their disqualification for allegedly holding office of profit, they said that regular procedure was followed for their appointment.

"We have just received the notice. We will thoroughly analyse it and file an appropriate response," Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)'s Laxmi Nagar MLA Nitin Tyagi told IANS.

According to the petition of law student Vibhor Anand, these MLAs hold posts of Chairperson in Rogi Kalyan Samitis (RKSs) of different government hospitals in Delhi.

Tyagi said that these Samitis were set up for the first time by the Sheila Dikshit government in 2009.

"Rogi Kalyan Samitis are being formed for several years. And, same procedure was followed this time as well. There has been no aberration," he added.

Shalimar Bagh MLA Bandana Kumari added that the Commission has given them time till Nov 11 to file a response and the AAP MLAs will do so after going through the details of the notice.

The petition was initially sent to President Pranab Mukherjee in June. Last month, Rashtrapati Bhavan forwarded the complaint to the Election Commission.

The list includes Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel, Deputy Speaker Rakhi Birla, former Deputy Speaker Bandana Kumari, Chandani Chowk MLA Alka Lamba and estranged AAP MLA Pankaj Pushkar.

Pushkar told IANS that his name has been included based on false information and he is not a member of any Rogi Kalyan Samiti.

"I will clear my stand before the Commission," he added.

--IANS

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