Inviting more trouble for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Election Commission (EC) has on Wednesday issued a notice to 27 more Delhi MLAs for allegedly holding the offices of profit. The petition was filed in June and is forwarded to the Commission by the Rashtrapati Bhawan last month, which is seeking the cancellation of membership of 27 AAP MLAs over the office of profit issue. The MLAs have been asked to file their responses by November 11.

The seven legislators against whom the EC is already considering a similar plea for holding the office of parliamentary secretaries are also  included in the list of 27. The list includes Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel, his deputy Rakhi Birla, former deputy speaker Bandana Kumari and estranged AAP MLA and Swaraj Abhiyan leader Pankaj Pushkar.

The petitioner has claimed that these MLAs are holding the posts of chairpersons of the Rogi Kalyan Samitis (RKSs) of different government hospitals in Delhi without any sanctity of law.

“The Delhi government in 2009 through its executive / standing orders has approved the constituting of Rogi Kalyan Samitis in all the hospitals with governing body under the chairmanship of local MLA in violating the mandate of scheme. The order of appointing MLAs either by the present government or by the earlier government, as chairperson of the Rogi Kalyan Samiti is wholly illegal and void ab initio, without any legal sanctity,” the complaint had said.

By Premji