TIL Desk New Delhi/ In a major setback for Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, 21 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs are likely to be disqualified after Election Commission found discrepancies in party’s claim that ‘there is no designated offices to the appointees’. The Election Commission (EC) internal report said that there is no provision of appointing a Parliamentary Secretary to a minister currently. Hence, the EC is most likely to disqualify from Delhi Assembly over the issue of dual office of profit.
The Chief Electoral Officer of Delhi has examined the updated version of the Delhi Members of Legislative Assembly (Removal of Disqualification) Act 1997 along with all the amendments that have been made to the act so far. The officer has found no provision that indicates that a minister can be appointed a Parliamentary Secretary.
21 Aam Aadmi Party lawmakers in Delhi in the office-of-profit controversy? In what is a major escalation in trouble for the Arvind Kejriwal-led party, the Election Commission has found the appointment of the 21 AAP MLAs as parliamentary secretaries invalid. The Election Commission internal report, available exclusively with India Today, suggests that there is no provision of appointing a Parliamentary Secretary to a minister currently applicable in Delhi.
Under Article 102(1)(a) and Article 191(1)(a) of the Constitution, a person shall be disqualified for being chosen as, and for being, a member of Parliament or of a Legislative Assembly/Council if he holds an “Office of Profit” under the central or any state government, other than an office declared not to disqualify its holder by a law passed by the Parliament or state legislature. The Delhi MLA (Removal of Disqualification) Act, 1997 did not include the post of Parliamentary Secretary as an “exempted post”.
