Bid to delay hearing on parl secys in EC: BJP

The Delhi BJP on Thursday alleged connivance between the Congress and the AAP for ‘delaying’ the hearing in the Election Commission on the fate of controversial 21 parliamentary secretaries even as the poll panel deferred the hearing to July 21.

After appearing before the poll panel on a petition seeking disqualification of the 21 AAP MLAs for holding office of profit, Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay said the Congress failed to complete the formality of giving an advance copy of its petition to these legislators.

He said that failure of Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken and his top lawyers to complete the formalities showed there was something fishy and his real intention was to provide some more time to the Aam Aadmi Party legislators to defend themselves.

Upadhyay appeared in the EC along with a party leader and RTI activist Vivek Garg who has filed a rejoinder opposing the AAP government’s plea seeking permission to become a party in the case.

Delhi Congress vice-president Chatter Singh said the AAP legislators tried to oppose Maken’s petition to be made a party in the matter but former law minister Salman Khurshid, who represented Maken, justified it citing the Delhi Congress chief’s experience as former Delhi Assembly Speaker and parliamentary secretary.

The AAP legislators sought copies of Maken’s petition which the EC directed to be delivered before the next hearing.

The matter reached the EC due to petition filed by lawyer Prashant Patel seeking disqualification of the AAP MLAs from the Delhi Assembly for holding an office of profit.

The AAP MLAs have denied any wrongdoing and claimed that they were being targeted by the Congress and the BJP.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has on several occasions alleged discrimination against his government as parliamentary secretaries in Delhi were being slammed while there were dozens in other states.

He has called the petition an attempt to threaten his party legislators who were working as “eyes and ears” of the government.

Following the petition, the EC last month issued notices to the AAP MLAs who denied enjoying any monetary benefits as parliamentary secretaries.

BJP leader Garg filed a rejoinder earlier claiming that “to mislead the EC, these MLAs have attached a copy of a letter sent by the General Administrative Department wherein it has been written that the GAD has not allotted any rooms to these 21 parliamentary secretaries.

This statement is bogus as GAD never allots room in Vidhan Sabha... only the Speaker has power to allot such rooms.” Garg also sought the 21 parliamentary secretaries’ prosecution in a city court to face criminal proceedings for filing a false affidavit in the EC whose proceedings are deemed judicial proceedings.

The cloud over the future of AAP government’s 21 parliamentary secretaries is linked to President Pranab Mukherjee’s recent refusal  to give assent to the Delhi Members of Legislative Assembly (Removal of Disqualification) Act, 1997 of June 24 2015 that aims to protect with retrospective effect 21 party MLAs, who have been appointed parliamentary secretaries, from disqualification under “office of profit” provisions.