Assembly notice to two former AAP MLAs over joining BJP

The Delhi Assembly Secretariat has sent notices to MLAs Anil Bajpai and Devinder Sehrawat, seeking their comments on petitions that demand their disqualification from the legislative assembly.

The two legislators had defected from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in May.

Bajpai represents Gandhi Nagar and Sehrawat representsBijwasan.

In case the MLAs are disqualified, the two constituencies will remain vacant till the assembly elections are held early next year.

According to the notices dated June 17, the two MLAs have been asked for their written submissions by Monday after which, on Tuesday (June 25), Delhi assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel will hear the case.

“Two separate petitions seeking disqualification of both the MLAs were received by my office on June 10. After reviewing the facts and the proofs submitted, a notice has been issued to each one of them... based on their responses, I will decide if it merits disqualification or not,” Goel said.

The petition was filed by AAP’s Greater Kailash MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj. “I was directed by the leader of the legislative party (AAP) Arvind Kejriwal to file the petition. Disqualification of Bajpai and Sehrawat has been sought under the Schedule X of the Constitution. By joining the BJP, the two MLAs have voluntarily given up the membership of their original party,” Bhardwaj said.

While Bajpai was not available for comments, Sehrawat said the petition “exposes” AAP’s “doublespeak”. “It is the same party that took the help of former BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha to strengthen AAP’s prospects nationally. Similar was the case with BJP rebels Yashwant Sinha and Kirti Azad who lent their voices in support of AAP during the Lok Sabha campaign. So, the party is only showing its double standards through this petition,” he said. He said he will present his case on Tuesday before the Speaker, citing other court verdicts given in the past.

While joining the BJP on May 6, Sehrawat said he was sidelined and humiliated by the AAP leadership and its members.