The Election Commission took the ultimate step of recommending the disqualification of the status of 20 MLAs of the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi. The recommendation rests with the President and Delhi High Court declined for a stay on an urgent petition filed to stay the EC’s recommendation and have posted it for a hearing on Monday. AAP is likely to move the Supreme Court and the President may go by the verdict of the court in the matter.
It may not give any immediate headache to AAP, as the party registered a landslide victory of 66 seats in the 70-member assembly. A few of the members, have already been either removed, arrested or resigned over various charges.
Many state governments tweaked the law limiting the number of ministers in proportion to the strength of members by appointing Parliamentary secretaries and conferring salary and perks and rank equivalent to a junior minister in the state. Arvind Kejriwal, the CM of Delhi had appointed 21 MLAs as Parliamentary secretaries, which was challenged by Advocate Prashant Patel who petitioned President Pranab Mukherjee on June 19, 2015, that these MLAs were now holding ‘office of profit’ and should be disqualified.
The Delhi Legislative Assembly, then passed the Delhi Member of Legislative Assembly (Removal of Disqualification) ( Amendment Bill ), 2015 excluding Parliamentary Secretaries from “ office of profit’ with retrospective effect.
However, the President withheld assent to the amendment bill and referred the matter to the Election Commission, resulting now in EC recommending the disqualification.
Indians from all walk of life have an uncanny and crafty way of bypassing rules and regulations, like the bureaucratic indulgence in retaining VIP status with their blue beacons instead of the red ones banned by the Supreme court. The ‘Jugaad’ culture pervades us all and the politicians are no exception.
Kejriwal the AAP supremo came into the political arena, riding the Anna Hazare wave, promising transparency and corruption free administration. He was a new hope to challenge the might of a corrupt political system. He could have done better had he confined to leaning on legal remedies to counter the moves of the Election Commission, rather than taking on the body and calling names and justifying his acts.
Kejriwal must understand that in a mass movement like the one he had attempted, shady characters have infiltrated, who fudged their educational qualifications, who took bribes, who were corrupt even before joining his movement etc., which are proven facts. His frustration should be directed in cleansing his party of such elements, lest he will be belying the hopes of many who have stood by his ideals and had a hope, which transcended our country’s borders too.
Kejriwal should stop blaming Modi or BJP for each of his belligerent act and prove worthy of the conditions on which the electorate gave him a overwhelming majority, i.e., a party with integrity!
Sampath Kumar
Intrépide voix
