AAP alleges conspiracy behind MLAs not being allowed to work

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday alleged a conspiracy about how its elected MLAs are not being allowed to work for public welfare and are being dragged into needless controversies to confuse the public through a motivated, false and malicious campaign. 

The party said that the latest conspiracy is to drag the 27 MLAs who head Rogi Kalyan Samitis into a needless controversy through a false and frivolous complaint on which the Election Commission (EC) has sent notices but the fact is that the positions of RKS chairperson and members are exempted from the office of profit under The Delhi Members of Legislative Assembly of Delhi (Removal of Disqualification) Act, 1997.

The party claimed that even notices of disqualification had been issued to nine of its legislators on the basis of a false complaint. “A total of 27 of its MLAs had been sent notices asking why they could not be disqualified for being members of the Rogi Kalyan Samiti. Membership of the Samiti did not amount to holding an office-of-profit. More important, nine MLAs, who had got the notices, the Delhi Assembly Speaker included, were not even members of this body. A basic scrutiny of the complaint against the MLAs was not done before the notices were issued,” said state convener Dilip Pandey. 

“In the last 20 months, MLAs have been framed in false cases, arrested and harassed in a bid to break their confidence and to defame them. Imagine the harassment these MLAs have undergone for no fault of theirs. Who will take action against the people who have acted in a malafide manner against our MLAs?” The Modi government and the Bharatiya Janata Party is behind the “conspiracy”,” added Pandey.

Notably, the Election Commission on November 2 issued show-cause notices to 27 AAP MLAs on a petition seeking their disqualification for allegedly holding offices-of-profit. “People with an anti-democratic framework of mind are misusing reputed institutions for short term political gains,” Pandey said. Pandey also said that the Rogi Kalyan Samiti (RKS) chairperson and members were exempt from the Office of Profit under The Delhi Members of Legislative Assembly of Delhi (Removal of Disqualification) Act, 1997.