20 Disqualified AAP MLAs’ Salaries Stopped by Assembly Secretariat
President Kovind approved the recommendation to disqualify the 20 AAP MLAs from the Delhi Assembly in January 2018.
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The salaries of 20 Aam Aadmi Party MLAs have been stopped, Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel said on 6 March.
The 20 MLAs, who were disqualified for allegedly holding offices of profit, have not received their salaries for February. All other facilities which were being provided to these 20 MLAs have also been stopped.
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 28 February.
Earlier, on 24 January the High Court 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 that the MLAs, by occupying the post of parliamentary secretaries between 13 March 2015 and 8 September 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.
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