President move dangerous to democracy: AAP

NEW DELHI: While the Aam Aadmi Party on Sunday termed President Ram Nath Kovind’s decision to disqualify 20 party legislators as “unconstitutional” and “dangerous” for democracy, both Delhi BJP and Congress welcomed the move with the latter going a step further by seeking chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s resignation over the matter.

Senior AAP leader Ashutosh tweeted: “The President’s order to disqualify 20 AAP MLAs is unconstitutional and dangerous for democracy. Mr Kovind should himself contemplate if he has enchanced his stature in history as the President of the Republic of India by signing to disqualify AAP MLAs.”

AAP’s Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh said that he was sad to see that the President gave his verdict without listening to the AAP’s stand.

His party colleague Atishi Marlena tweeted: “The wrongful disqualification of 20 AAP MLAs by the EC underlines  the need for removing Constitutional ambiguities about powers of the AAP government.”

Coming out in defence of the AAP, senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha said that the President’s order was a complete miscarriage of natural justice. He tweeted : “No hearing. No waiting for the high court’s order. It is Tuglaqshahi of the worst order.”

Rebel JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav  said that the disqualification of  AAP MLAs was undemocratic as they were not even heard, which was against  natural justice. “Constitutional bodies in the country are being misused now-a-days. Appeal to public to deeply think about which hands the country will be secure in future.”

Demanding Mr Kejriwal’s resignation, Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Ajay Maken said his party was ready for by-polls. The Congress will hold a massive protest at the CM’s office on Monday demanding his resignation, he said. “Mr Kejriwal has lost the moral right to rule and he should step down now, especially after 20 of his MLAs were disqualified by the highest authority in the land,” he said.

He also reiterated the allegation that the BJP and the Election Commission (EC) had “helped the AAP by delaying the disqualification process and enabled it to send its three candidates to the Rajya Sabha”.

The party would have split due to “internal dissensions” had the EC made the recommendation before December 22 last, when the three AAP candidates were elected to the Rajya Sabha, he claimed. “The delay was deliberate, thanks to a deal struck between the BJP and the AAP,” he said, rubbishing the AAP’s claim that the disqualified MLAs were not given a hearing by the EC to present their case.

The Delhi BJP hailing the disqualification move, said “The peopole of the city feel that the MLAs must return all benefits they were given to them from the day they were appointed as the parliamentary secretaries.”