Former Delhi social welfare minister Raaj Kumar Anand has been disqualified from the membership of the Delhi assembly.
Anand resigned as minister from the Arvind Kejriwal cabinet and on April 10, but did not resign either as an MLA. On May 5, Anand joined BSP, and a day later he filed his nomination as the BSP candidate from New Delhi Lok Sabha seat. He had contested the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls from New Delhi seat and lost to BJP candidate Bansuri Swaraj.
"He was given the date of June 10 for replying to the notice served to him but he did not reply. In the same notice, he was asked to be present physically on June 11 but he did not appear. He was given another chance to be physically present on June 14 but he did not come. His membership from the Delhi assembly has been terminated," Delhi Assembly speaker Rm Nirwas Goel said. When contacted, Anand did not respond.
According to officials, on May 31, Raaj Kumar Anand was served a notice by the Delhi assembly secretariat under anti-defection laws and was asked to file his reply to the assembly by 5pm on June 10. Anand was elected from the Patel Nagar reserved assembly constituency in the 2020 election.
