Sisodia appeals to President to hear AAP's side in office of profit case
New Delhi: A day after Election Commission (EC) recommended disqualification of 20 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislators for holding office of profit, senior party leader and Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Saturday said the MLAs of his party were never given a chance to put forward their side of the story and appealed to the President to hear his party's view as well.
Addressing the media in the national capital Sisodia said: "There was no hearing, we were not given a chance to explain our stand. We appeal to the President to hear our view too, MLAs will meet President also."
Sisodia also alleged that his government is being deliberately targeted for the "honest work" they have been doing in Delhi.
He said the latest attempt by the EC is another move by the Centre to deter AAP from pursuing the path of honest politics.
Jarnail Singh, MLA from Tilak Nagar constituency in Delhi, who is also one of the 20 MLAs recommended for disqualification, challenged the EC to prove if the legislators received benefits for holding office of profit.
"I challenge the EC to prove that we got even 1 rupee as salary, or even a house or car. We are ready to go to any court and if there is no option we will go to the people's court," he said.
On Friday, in a blow to Delhi's ruling AAP, the Election Commission had asked President Ramnath Kovind to disqualify 20 of its MLAs for holding offices of profit, setting the stage for their ouster from the Delhi Assembly.
After the EC's recommendation, the MLAs moved the Delhi High Court on Friday evening but the court refused to pass any interim relief to the legislators.
In its opinion sent to President Ramnath Kovind on Friday, the EC said the MLAs, by occupying the post of parliamentary secretaries between March 13, 2015 and September 8, 2016, held office of profit, and were liable to be disqualified as legislators.
AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, however, maintained a stoic silence throughout Friday, which he broke only later in the evening with a tweet.
Also read: In the end, truth will win: Kejriwal on office of profit controversy
"It is natural that when you walk on the path of truth and honesty, you have to overcome a lot of obstacles," he said, "But all the visible and invisible forces of the Universe come forward to assist you."
The AAP chief went on to say that even God will come to assist a person who does not work for themselves, but for the development of the society and the world at large.
"In the end, truth will win and history is witness to that," he added.
