In fresh trouble for the ruling Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi, the Election Commission on Wednesday issued show cause notice to its 27 MLAs on a fresh petition seeking their disqualification for allegedly holding office of profit.
The petition, filed in June, and forwarded to the Commission by Rashtrapati Bhavan last month, had sought the cancellation of the membership of the 27 MLAs over the issue.
The 27 MLAs include seven legislators against whom the Commission is already considering a similar plea for holding the office of parliamentary secretaries.
The list also includes Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel, his deputy Rakhi Birla, former Deputy Speaker Bandana Kumari and estranged AAP MLA and Swaraj Abhiyan leader Pankaj Pushkar.
Sources in the Commission confirmed that notices were issued and the MLAs were asked to file their response by November 11.
The petitioner has claimed that these MLAs hold posts of chairpersons of Rogi Kalyan Samitis (RKSs) of different government hospitals in Delhi without any sanctity of law.
“The Delhi government, in 2009, through its executive/ standing orders approved constituting Rogi Kalyan Samitis in all the hospitals with governing body under the chairmanship of local MLA in violating the mandate of scheme. The order of appointing MLAs either by the present government or by the earlier government, as chairperson of the Rogi Kalyan Samiti is wholly illegal and void ab initio, without any legal sanctity,” the complaint said.
Sources in the Delhi government said the RKSs were set up by the Sheila Dikshit Cabinet on October 5, 2009 and the complaint would fall flat in due course of time.
In July 2014, then Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said in Parliament that MPs/ MLAs would be the chairpersons of the committees.
The National Rural Health Mission website clearly states that an MP/ MLA can become a chairman/ member, the Delhi government sources said.
