BJP MLAs on Monday submitted statements of their assets and liabilities to the Office of the Lokayukta here after Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel last week refused the Lokayukta’s order to issue notices to all MLAs for the same.
Mr. Goel had termed the Lokayukta’s instruction to the Assembly Secretary to issue notices to all 70 MLAs asking them to declare their assets as unjustified.
He had said there was no legal requirement for MLAs to do so and that the Lokayukta was acting on a “motivated” complaint.
On Monday, however, Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta, BJP MLA Manjinder Singh Sirsa and rebel Aam Aadmi Party MLA Kapil Mishra submitted their statements of assets and liabilities for 2015-2016, 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 to the Lokayukta.
The remaining BJP MLAs, O.P. Sharma and Jagdish Pradhan, could not submit their statements due to personal reasons, but would be doing so shortly, Mr. Gupta said.
‘Openly defying’
The LoP hit out at the AAP, saying the party was “openly defying” the Lokayukta.
The AAP, however, responded by saying there was no law that requires MLAs to file their statements to the Lokayukta.
“AAP MLAs had filed their assets and liabilities to Election Commission for the 2013 elections and then for the 2015 elections. All of us will again file the affidavits in the 2020 elections detailing our and our family assets and liabilities,” an AAP statement said.
Stating that MLAs of the BJP and the Congress in other states don’t file such statements, AAP said if the BJP was serious about the declaration, then the Centre should make it compulsory.
“We will support this law in Parliament. As of now, it’s the Central government that has kept this provision of the Lokpal & Lokayukta Act in abeyance. Moreover, the notice by the Lokayukta to MLAs is mala fide as it is guided by her tiff with the Delhi government. The Lokayukta has misused her office and powers and we are protesting that misuse,” AAP statement read.
The Delhi government had earlier this month denied the Lokayukta’s request to be exempted from the installation of GPS on official cars.
