New Delhi, Jan 8 (PTI) The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)strengthened its position in Parliament today after three ofits members were elected to the Rajya Sabha, taking the numberof MPs of the five-year-old political outfit to seven.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's trusted lieutenant andparty leader Sanjay Singh, chartered accountant N D Gupta andeducationist Sushil Gupta received a 'Certificate of Election'from the returning officer for the Rajya Sabha polls.
Earlier in the day, election authorities rejected apetition of Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken seeking thecancellation of N D Gupta's nomination, for allegedly holdingan office of profit.
AAP's national secretary Pankaj Gupta called it a"historic day" for the party which recorded a spectacularvictory by bagging 67 seats in the 70-member Delhi LegislativeAssembly in 2015.
The AAP now faces the task of making its presence felt inthe Rajya Sabha.
"My job will be to raise issues related to Delhi andhighlight how the Centre is not allowing an elected governmentto work despite its massive mandate," Singh told reporters atthe party office where he, along with the other two new MPs,were felicitated by Pankaj Gupta and Delhi unit convenor GopalRai.
Singh, who is one of AAP's founder members and a part ofits top decision-making body, the Political Affairs Committee,also said raising the issue of statehood for Delhi would behis top priority in the upper house.
The Rajya Sabha election had been muddied after Kejriwalchose the two Guptas, considered to be "outsiders", overfounder member Kumar Vishwas, who has been at odds with theleadership in recent times.
Vishwas had also made his displeasure known after theparty's decision.
Singh, Rai and Pankaj Gupta did not take any questions onVishwas at the press conference today.
Although the party's strength in Parliament now goes upto seven, it is still fragmented. Of the four MPs in the LokSabha, two--Dharamvira Gandhi and H S Khalsa--have beensuspended.
The other two--Bhagwant Mann and Sadhu Singh -- hadclocked 55 per cent and 53 per cent attendance respectively inParliament, according to PRS Legislative, a fact tank. PTI PRBDS.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.