AAP rebel MLAs Anil Bajpai and Devinder Sehrawat were disqualified by Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel on Thursday, with effect from May 3 and May 6, 2019, respectively.
“Shri Anil Kumar Bajpai, the respondent in this case, an elected Member of the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, elected from Gandhi Nagar, Assembly Constituency No.61 has become subject to disqualification under Paragraph 2 (1) (a) of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution. That the disqualification of said Shri Anil Kumar takes effect from 03rd May 2019,” the disqualification order signed by the Speaker said.
Mr. Bajpai on May 3 and Mr. Sehrawat on May 6 had allegedly joined the BJP in two press conferences at the BJP headquarters in Delhi, in the presence of senior BJP leaders.
The BJP had also issued press releases on the same.
In June, AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj had moved a petition in the Delhi Assembly to disqualify the two MLAs.
“Consequently, the Gandhi Nagar and Bijwasan seats have fallen vacant,” a press release by the Delhi Assembly on Thursday read.
On August 2, AAP MLA Kapil Mishra was disqualified by the Speaker under the anti-defection law. The Speaker said that now a request to disqualify AAP Sultanpur Majra legislator Sandeep Kumar is pending with him.
Explaining his decision, the Speaker noted in the case of Mr. Bajpai, “The appearance of the respondent [Mr. Bajpai] in the BJP office in Delhi, the press conference announcing his joining the party and the press note of the BJP declaring that he has joined the party on 3.5.2019 clearly proves that he has voluntarily given up the membership of his party namely the AAP on 03.05.2019. Hence the respondent has become subject to disqualification on 03.05.2019.”
MLAs to move HC
When reached out, both Mr. Sehrawat and Mr. Bajpai said that they had told the Speaker that they never took a BJP membership and that they would challenge the order in the High Court.
“This is a political vengeance by Mr. Kejriwal. He is corrupt and has been robbing Delhiites of ₹50 lakh a day by charging ₹600 for high-security number plates that cost only ₹150. I had organised his initial meetings in Munirka and Bijwasan and shown him the way into Delhi and I will show him the way out of the city too,” Mr. Sehrawat said.
Mr. Bajpai, meanwhile, termed the Speaker’s decision as “undemocratic” and termed him “biased”.
