Office of Profit row: Enraged Kejriwal targets PM

June 14, 2016 10:31

A day after President Pranab Mukherjee refused to give his nod to a bill amending the law on "Office of Profit," raising questions on the fate of 21 Aam Aadmi Party legislators who had been appointed as Parliamentary secretaries last year, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that the latter follows the agenda of 'not working, neither allowing anyone to work.

"Modi is targeting Delhi MLAs because he can't digest AAP's mandate. Why is Modi only behind disqualifying Delhi's Parliament Secretaries when Haryana, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Punjab, Gujarat and others have them as well, Kejriwal told ANI on Tuesday.

Holding an office of profit is a violation of the Constitution by an elected member.

The President's letter has been sent to the Law Department of Delhi government, which may now seek legal recourse, said sources in the government.

Home Ministry sources said once the President has refused, the legislators will automatically stand disqualified, making an election in Delhi necessary. AAP has 67 seats in the 70-member assembly.

The contentious bill - meant to exclude the post of parliamentary secretaries from the list of "office of profit" - was passed by the Delhi Assembly last year to validate the post of legislators, who got their appointment on March 13, 2015. The government wanted the bill to give them retrospective exemption. The bill only needed the President's nod.

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