Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal said “truth had won” on Friday after the Delhi High Court quashed the Election Commission’s (EC) recommendation to the President to disqualify 20 AAP MLAs in January.
In a tweet, the Chief Minister said that the elected representatives of Delhiites had been disqualified “incorrectly” and that the High Court had given the people of Delhi “justice” by quashing the disqualification.
Just moments after the decision of the High Court in the afternoon, supporters and some of the MLAs celebrated at the party office, while other MLAs rushed to the Delhi Assembly to join the ongoing budget session.
Later in the evening, Mr. Kejriwal met the MLAs at his residence. Posing for cameras, Mr. Kejriwal, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and the reinstated MLAs flashed victory signs and big smiles.
Meanwhile, the AAP took a stronger stance against the EC and questioned the independence of the body.
‘Misadventures of EC’
“High Court’s verdict today is the latest in a series of outed misadventures for the EC. Being an independent agency that conducts free & fair elections in the world’s largest democracy but fails to follow “principles of natural justice” speaks volumes about the rot in the system [sic],” tweeted AAP leader Raghav Chadha.
Another party leader Ashutosh said the Election Commissioners should introspect on whether they should “apologise and resign”.
In a statement, AAP Delhi spokesperson and MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj said that the High Court’s decision had raised “very serious questions” about the state of institutions in the country.
“The EC was regarded as the most credible institution in India and almost next to the Supreme Court of India. However, the unusual hurry which was shown by [former] Election Commissioner A. K. Joti to decide the case of parliamentary secretaries just one day before his retirement, raises serious doubts about the current state of Indian democracy,” said Mr. Bharadwaj.
