The speaker of Delhi Assembly Ram Niwas Goel notified the house about withholding the salaries of 20 Aam Aadmi Party MLAs. These MLAs were disqualified for holding an office of profit. Sources say that all the other facilities provided to MLAs have also been stopped.
The salaries of 20 MLAs have been stopped and has not been released since February, the Speaker informed. Combining the salary and allowances, an AAP MLA gets around Rs. 90,000 per month.
Order challenged in Delhi High Court
The MLAs have challenged the order of the Election Commission in the Delhi High Court. The court had ordered disqualification on February 28. On January 24, the High Court had refused to stay the Centre’s notification disqualifying the MLAs.
The Election Commission asked President Ram Nath Kovind to debar 20 AAP MLAs for holding offices of profit. The poll panel said the MLAs, occupied the post of parliamentary secretaries between March 13, 2015, and September 8, 2016. Holding these offices of profit made them liable to be disqualified as legislators.
The president had approved the EC’s recommendation and ordered disqualification of the MLAs.