Delhi Congress President Ajay Maken alleged that the Election Commission helped the AAP by delaying the recommendation for disqualifying 20 of the party MlAs for holding offices of profit so that it may enable it to send three of its candidates to the Rajya Sabha.
Maken said it was apparently done to give one month’s time to the AAP to complete the Rajya Sabha election process. “If the decision was taken before December 22, 2017 then the party’s strength would have been only 50 per cent of the Assembly. The understanding between the BJP and the AAP was apparently the reason for delaying the recommendation as the BJP wanted to send AAP’s three candidates to the Upper House without any hurdle,” he said.
“The EC on the instance of the BJP delayed its recommendation by a month and helped the Aam Aadmi Party. Had the recommendation come before the Rajya Sabha election, the AAP would have split due to internal rift,” Maken claimed.
He further said the AAP faced opposition from within over its nominees for the Rajya Sabha and the party would have possibly split had the EC’s recommendation was announced last month when the party had decided the nominees. “We want to ask Arvind Kejriwal about the connivance between him and the BJP, which was behind the delay in disqualification recommendation,” he said.
Maken also claimed that the 20 MlAs, who were appointed as Parliamentary Secretaries, enjoyed facilities such as office space and remuneration. He gave copies of Delhi Government’s Chief Secretaries’ communication with the EC, saying the MlAs were alloted rooms in the Assembly. “IT department informed that Dwarka MlA Adarsh Shastri, who was Parliamentary Secretary to IT Minister, was paid Rs 15,479 for attending a meeting,” he said citing the papers.
According to highly-placed sources, in its opinion sent to President Ram Nath Kovind, the EC has said the MlAs, by
occupying the post of Parliamentary Secretaries between March 13, 2015 and September 8, 2016, held offices of profit, and were liable to be disqualified as legislators.
Once the President accepts the opinion, bypolls will have to be held for the 20 Assembly seats.