Salaries of 20 disqualified AAP MLAs stopped: Ram Niwas Goel

Delhi Assembly's Budget session has been scheduled for 16 March to 28 March. It means that the 20 disqualified MLAs will not be allowed to attend the Budget Session. "The salaries of 20 MLAs, who had been disqualified by the Election Commission, have been stopped. Their salaries for the month of February have not been released," said Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel.

Sources said other facilities, which are provided to MLAs, have also been stopped to these 20 AAP MLAs by the Assembly Secretariat. In salary and allowances, an MLA gets around Rs 90,000 per month in the national capital. The 20 AAP MLAs have challenged the Election Commission's order in the Delhi High Court, which had reserved its order on February 28.

Earlier, on January 24, the HC had refused to stay the Centre's notification disqualifying the MLAs, but restrained the EC from taking any precipitate measures such as announcing dates for bypolls to fill the vacancies. In a blow to the Aam Aadmi Party, the Election Commission had in January asked President Ram Nath Kovind to disqualify 20 of its MLAs for holding double offices of profit, setting the stage for their ouster from the Assembly.

In its opinion sent to the president, the poll panel said the MLAs, by occupying the post of parliamentary secretaries between March 13, 2015 and September 8, 2016, held double offices of profit, and were liable to be disqualified as legislators. The President had approved the EC's recommendation and ordered disqualification of the MLAs.