Buoyed by the Delhi High Court verdict restoring the membership of its 20 legislators, the Aam Aadmi Party on Friday…
AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj (Photo: IANS)
Buoyed by the Delhi High Court verdict restoring the membership of its 20 legislators, the Aam Aadmi Party on Friday said it has won the “perception battle” in the office-of-profit case and now will take the matter to the people.
AAP’s Delhi unit chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said all the 20 party MLAs will meet people in their respective constituencies and explain to them how they were “targeted”.
The remarks set the stage for a long political battle between the AAP and the opposition parties, mainly the BJP.
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The Delhi unit of the BJP was at the forefront to demand the disqualification of the MLAs for holding ‘office-of-profit’ after they were appointed as parliamentary secretaries to assist Delhi ministers in 2015.
The saffron party and the Congress had demanded that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal resign on moral grounds after the EC recommended the President in January this year to disqualify them.
The AAP had defended their appointment, saying they did not avail any perks or salaries, and that their appointments were only aimed at aiding the Delhi government ministers.
Meanwhile, the 20 AAP MLAs, who were disqualified in the office-of-profit case, met Chief Minister and party chief Arvind Kejriwal at his residence here after the Delhi High Court provided them a breather.
Terming the verdict a “victory of democracy”, Chandni Chowk MLA Alka Lamba said, “We are ready for all the challenges and are not afraid of difficulties. But the conspiracies to topple a stable government should stop now.”
“Be it the Election Commission (EC) or those sitting at the central governemnt, this (order) is a message to them. This is the victory of democracy and people from our constituencies,” she said.
AAP legislator Somnath Bharti said that the order has brought “happiness”.
“It is a moment of happiness for us. There are still institutions in the country where you can get justice,” he said.
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