Delhi BJP writes to President, seeks disqualification of 11 AAP MLAs

Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari has written to President Pranab Mukherjee that 11 AAP MLAs, who are members of the District Disaster Management Committees, hold office of profit and must be disqualified. AAP has refuted the charges and says the appointments were made as per the law.

The Delhi BJP has written to President Pranab Mukherjee seeking disqualification of 11 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs who are allegedly occupying offices of profit.

Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party's chief Manoj Tiwari has claimed that 11 AAP MLAs are holding office of profit and hence should be disqualified. (Sonu Mehta/HT Photo)

However, the Delhi government maintained that the appointments were made as per the notification issued by the Delhi Lieutenant Governor on January 19, 2015.

Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari told a press conference that the MLAs were appointed as co-chairpersons of District Disaster Management Committees on April 2015.

These appointments were in contravention of Section 14, 25, 2(h) of the Disaster Management Act of the Delhi government under which only municipal councillors are eligible for the post, he said.

The names of six of the MLAs listed by Tiwari also figure among the 21 MLAs who were appointed as Parliamentary Secretaries by the government and the Election Commission is currently seized of the matter.

“We have written to the President as the law is very clear which merits their disqualification. We are also aware that Arvind Kejriwal will not pay heed to our demands but he will have to abide by the Constitution,” he said.

Under the concept of office-of-profit, lawmakers at the central and state level are restricted from accepting government positions, except those declared exempt, and any violation attracts disqualification.

But, a senior government official said, “L-G Najeeb Jung, through a notification dated January 19, 2015, had made it clear that both councillors and MLAs could be appointed as co-chairpersons. So the basic premise of BJP’s argument is wrong. The gazette notification of the revenue department issued in the Lt Governor’s name had made it clear,” the official said.

Prof VK Malhotra nominated to election management committee

On Thursday, the party announced that senior leader Prof VK Malhotra will also be part of the election management committee which were formed on Monday. Rajiv Babbar, vice president, Delhi BJP said, “Prof Malhotra and some other leaders have been included in the committee to take the benefit of their experience during the elections,” he said.