A big victory for a small party, says AAP Development pace will pick up now, say MLAS
OFFICE OF PROFIT Experts say HC verdict will give MLAS time to complete their terms
NEWDELHI: The Delhi High Court’s decision to restore the membership of 20 disqualified Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAS came as a surprise for the party.
Sources said that till the announcement, they were expecting to take the fight to the Supreme Court. But the verdict turned out to be a “major relief” with AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj describing it as “a big victory for a small party”.
On January 19, the Election Commission of India had disqualified 20 AAP MLAS for holding offices of profit. The MLAS alleged it was done without giving them a chance of being heard.
Following the court order, the poll body will now have to hear each of the 20 MLAS. Sources said that this would give them a chance to strategically use delaying tactics to buy time and successfully complete their remaining two-year tenure.
Another section in the party, however, also felt that it was unlikely that the election commission will make an appeal in the Supreme Court as the high court order has exposed several follies in their decision.
Following the disqualification by the election commission, the AAP was staring at a mini-election in 20 of the 70 assembly constituencies of Delhi. Many MLAS and the government itself had started preparing for polls by speeding up work in unauthorised colonies and starting voter engagement meetings.
AAP MLA from Malviya Nagar Somnath Bharti explained that the court order is so strongly worded that it would be difficult for the election commission to make an appeal. “Being a lawyer, I was sure that the judgment will come in our favour. We had only asked for a fair chance at the hearing, which is the right of everyone,” said Bharti.
Party spokesperson Atishi Marlena said that the high court has overridden the presidential order on the disqualification of its 20 MLAS, which is a strong message to send out to the public.
“The HC has called the election commission’s decision as the violation of the principle of natural justice. This is a huge thing to say in a democratic setup,” she said.
After the verdict, a meeting was called by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal at his residence to congratulate and reinstate the 20 MLAS and to advise them on their future course of action.
Experts, however, said that though this verdict has put the AAP in an advantageous position, they should refrain from using an aggressive strategy. Sanjay Kumar from the Centre for Study of Developing Societies said, “They should now just focus on their work and refrain from starting another round of allegations and counter-allegations.”
The high court decision is a unique proof of the independence of judiciary and freedom. We welcome the directions of the high court. The HC order gives only partial relief. The court has only remanded the case to the election commission for a hearing to the 20 AAP MLAS. KAILASH GAHLOT’S ‘DISQUALIFICATION’ HAD EVOKED STRONG RESENTMENT FROM THE OPPOSITION WHO HAD DEMANDED HE BE REMOVED AS MINISTER
DWARKA CHANDNI CHOWK GANDHI NAGAR KALKAJI NAJAFGARH KASTURBA NAGAR KONDLI MEHRAULI LAXMI NAGAR JANGPURA WAZIRPUR JANAKPURI BURARI ROHTAS NAGAR SADAR BAZAR NARELA MOTI NAGAR MUNDKA RAJINDER NAGAR TILAK NAGAR NEWDELHI: Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday hailed the Delhi High Court verdict, restoring the membership of 20 disqualified AAP MLAS, and dubbed it as “a victory of truth”.
The 20 legislators, in turn, said that development works in their constituencies will now speed up.
The mood of the Delhi Assembly, which around 2:30pm was discussing a question raised on transportation, turned electrifying as soon as AAP legislator from Malviya Nagar Somnath Bharti stood up to break the news of the high court’s verdict to the Speaker and his colleagues. Bharti’s announcement was welcomed by all MLAS of the House who stood up and began thumping their desks in celebration.
Speaking in the House, Sisodia said that the AAP government were not worried about the disqualification of their legislators. “But, we were worried about the question of justice. This will set an example for everyone,” he said. The Opposition, too, congratulated the AAP leadership.
Kejriwal, who did not attend the Assembly session, met the 20 MLAS later in the evening at his residence to congratulate them. “The representatives elected by the people were disqualified in a wrong manner. The Delhi High Court’s verdict is a big victory for Delhi people. I congratulate all Delhiites,” Kejriwal said.
Around 10 of the 20 MLAS, who were barred from attending the proceedings over the past five days of the budget session, returned to the House after permission of the Speaker. Transport minister Kailash Gahlot, who was among the disqualified MLAS, said that he had complete faith in the judiciary and hoped that the election commission also would treat their case fairly.
“If the election commission had given a proper hearing to us, we would not have moved court. I had another case on the same issue in the court which also stands quashed with this verdict. So, it is a good day for me,” Gahlot said.
Some of the disqualified legislators claimed that Delhi government officials did not take their phone calls after the President approved their disqualification for holding Office of Profit. “It became difficult for me to answer to my people as officials would just not answer my calls or reply to my messages. Now, I will make up for the backlog in getting works done for the people in my area.” said Kondli MLA Manoj Kumar.
Laxmi Nagar MLA Nitin Tyagi said all the time, energy and resources could have been put to better use, had the election commission given a fair decision on the case.
Chandni Chowk MLA, Alka Lamba, who is often vociferous during the Assembly sessions, said she had missed the House sessionn, especially the Budget and Outcome Budget proceedings.
“I could not be a part of the budgetary process of the government. I will officially open the MLA office in my constituency from tomorrow. Ever since the President’s assent came, I had stopped using it for official purposes,” she said.