Delhi Assembly Secretariat stops salaries of 20 disqualified AAP MLAs: Speaker

New Delhi: Salaries of 20 Aam Aadmi Party MLAs who were disqualified for allegedly holding the office of profit have been stopped, Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel said on Tuesday. All others facilities, which were being provided to these 20 MLAs, have also been stopped.

“The salaries of 20 MLAs, who had been disqualified by the Election Commission, have been stopped. Their salaries for the month of February have not been released,” Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel told PTI.

Office of profit: AAP MLAs withdraw earlier plea against Election Commission

Sources said other facilities, which are provided to MLAs, have also been stopped to these 20 AAP MLAs by the Assembly Secretariat. With salary and allowances, an MLA gets around Rs 90,000 per month in the national capital.

The 20 AAP MLAs have challenged the Election Commission’s order in the Delhi High Court, which had reserved its order on February 28. Earlier, on January 24 the HC had refused to stay the Centre s notification disqualifying the MLAs but restrained the EC from taking any precipitate measures such as announcing dates for bypolls to fill the vacancies.

In a blow to the Aam Aadmi Party, the Election Commission had in January asked President Ram Nath Kovind to disqualify 20 of its MLAs for holding offices of profit, setting the stage for their ouster from the Assembly.

In its opinion sent to the president, the poll panel said the MLAs, by occupying the post of parliamentary secretaries between March 13, 2015, and September 8, 2016, held offices of profit and were liable to be disqualified as legislators. The President had approved the EC’s recommendation and ordered disqualification of the MLAs.