NEW DELHI: Speaker Ram Niwas Goel on Thursday disqualified two more rebel AAP MLAs from the Delhi Legislative Assembly. The two legislators, Devinder Sehrawat and Anil Bajpai, termed the decision “premeditated” and said they would approach the high court to challenge the order.
Goel passed the order on both the matters, which had been heard for over a month at the Assembly. Earlier, AAP MLA Kapil Mishra was disqualified under the anti-defection law.
“Kejriwal only likes people who massage his ego. Only those kind are left in the Aam Aadmi Party, of which I was a founding member.
We will approach the court because this is clear misuse of powers given to the Speaker of the Delhi Assembly. I clearly informed the Assembly that I have not taken membership of the BJP.
They are trying to torment me, but soon the public will give him a fitting reply for all this unjust tactics,” said Sehrawat, the disqualified MLA from Bijwasan.
Bajpai, MLA from Gandhi Nagar constituency, had jumped ship just before the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year. “The Speaker was biased. From the beginning of the proceedings, it was evident that the chair and its powers were being misused. We will, of course, take the matter to court to challenge it, and to the streets,” said Bajpai.
Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj had filed the disqualification petition on June 11.
The order from Goel states that both the leaders were present at a press conference with BJP leaders at the Delhi BJP unit’s office, and that party had issued a statement declaring that both had joined the BJP, which proved that Sehrawat and Bajpai had voluntarily given up membership of AAP, and were thus liable for disqualification. Bhardwaj said on Thursday: “The conduct of the former MLAs has been very clearly anti-party.”