Cancel Assembly membership of former CPSes: AAP to President

Tribune News Service

Rohtak, July 19

The Haryana unit of the Aam Aadmi Party has maintained that four BJP MLAs had resigned from the post of Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) after the Punjab and Haryana High Court set aside their appointments, but mere resignations were not enough and their Assembly memberships should also be annulled.

Addressing a news conference here today, AAP state president Naveen Jaihind said the appointments of the Chief Parliamentary Secretaries – Shyam Singh, Bakhshish Singh Virk, Seema Trikha and Kamal Gupta – were unconstitutional and he had written to the President to get their Assembly memberships annulled.

“As per Article 164(1)(A) of the Constitution, no state can have more than 15 per cent of total MLAs in its Cabinet. As per Article 102 (1)(A) of the Constitution, no MLA can assume an office of profit. But the Haryana Government has violated the Constitutional provisions in these regards,” he stated.

In the letter to the President, Jaihind has pointed out that in similar cases, the Calcutta High Court had got CPSes appointed by the West Bengal Government removed in 2015, while the Bombay High Court had got CPSes appointed by the Goa Government removed in 2009.

“In both cases, the said High Courts had also ruled that the Assembly memberships of the MLAs who had remained CPSes be also annulled,” he added.

On being asked about the similar removal of CPSes appointed by the AAP Government in Delhi, Jaihind maintained that the Delhi Government had not provided any facilities like office, house or security to those CPSes unlike in Haryana, where the CPSes enjoyed all facilities and perks on the pattern of ministers.