Rebel AAP MLA Sandeep Kumar disqualified from Delhi Assembly

Rebel Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA and former Delhi minister Sandeep Kumar was on Tuesday disqualified from the Delhi Assembly under the anti-defection law.

Kumar, an official statement issued by the Assembly said, faced action for allegedly campaigning for the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Delhi during this year’s Lok Sabha polls.

“I do not care about getting disqualified from the Assembly. I have people who support me and I will continue fighting for my community,” said Kumar, who was elected from north-west Delhi’s Sultanpur Majra, an assembly constituency reserved for candidates of the Scheduled Castes.

Kumar is the fourth MLA to be disqualified by Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel in the last three weeks. The others are Kapil Mishra, Anil Bajpai and Devinder Sehrawat, who were disqualified for allegedly supporting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the last general elections.

With the disqualification of the four MLAs, the strength of legislators in the 70-member House has come down to 66.

Kumar, who was the women and child development minister, was sacked from his position in 2016 over his alleged involvement in a sex scandal.

“Sandeep Kumar, the respondent in this case, an elected member of the sixth Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, elected from Sultanpur Majra, Assembly Constituency No.10, has become subject to disqualification under Paragraph 2 (1) (a) of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution,” the statement said.

The Speaker announced his decision on a petition by AAP MLA and party spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj. “Suspended MLA Sandeep Kumar, a disgrace, finally disqualified,” Bharadwaj said in a tweet, sharing a copy of the Delhi Assembly statement.