Office of profit' to haunt AAP government

New Delhi: The thumping majority with which the Aam Aadmi Party rose to power in the national capital is in danger with 36 of its legislators embroiled in the Office of Profit controversy. Flirting with the established norms and procedures, the AAP had appointed 21 of its MLAs as parliamentary secretaries in different ministries ranging from revenue, finance and transportation to health, education and employment. AAP’s troubles mounted multifold when another 27 of its legislators were found to be involved in another office of profit, 12 of who were already awaiting their fate in the parliamentary secretary controversy. It all started when on March 13 last year, the AAP government passed an order appointing 21 MLAs as parliamentary secretaries, which was challenged by advocate Prashant Patel, who petitioned President Pranab Mukherjee on 19 June, 2015, that these MLAs were now holding “office of profit” and therefore should be disqualified. The Delhi Legislative Assembly then passed the Delhi Member of Legislative Assembly Amendment Bill 2015, excluding parliamentary secretaries from the “office of profit” with retrospective effect. The AAP government suffered a huge blow when President Pranab Mukherjee refused to give his assent to the proposed legislation that sought to protect — with retrospective effect — 21 AAP MLAs from disqualification for occupying additional posts that were deemed unconstitutional.