Former AAP MLA Anil Bajpai moves High Court against Speaker

Source: hindustantimes.com

Former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA from Gandhi Nagar Anil Bajpai, who defected to the BJP just before the Lok Sabha elections, moved the Delhi High Court on Saturday, accusing Delhi assembly speaker Ram Niwas Goel of favouring the ruling party. Bajpai demanded Goel’s ‘recusal’ from hearing the anti-defection petition moved against him by AAP.

On June 20, AAP had moved an anti-defection petition against Bajpai and Bijwasan MLA Devinder Sehrawat – both AAP rebels -—for joining the BJP days before the Lok Sabha elections.

The petition, which has not been admitted yet because it is yet to be cleared by the Delhi High Court for hearing, alleged that Goel has brought “utter disregard to the virtue, ethics and integrity being a speaker” by joining protests organised by AAP.

The plea, filed through advocate Neeraj, said Goel had joined a “protest called by AAP at Rajghat”. He “wore black bands” in the Delhi assembly in protest with ministers after Delhi lieutenant-governor Anil Baijal had contented that the “speaker cannot accept questions on reserve subjects”, the plea alleged.

Goel, however, refused to comment on the allegations levelled against him.

The petition, which is likely to come up on hearing for next week, said Goel had actively attended AAP’s election campaigns during the Lok Sabha elections. “The respondent no 1 (Goel), was seen to be dancing with Aam Aadmi Party workers in the campaign,” the plea read.

Bajpai contended the petition against him will not be “impartially adjudicated” as the authority, which is the speaker, is acting as an active member of AAP, which had initiated the anti-defection proceedings against him.

When contacted, Anil Bajpai said, “I approached the high court against Delhi assembly speaker Ram Niwas Goel. He has not respected the constitutional post and remained unbiased. He campaigned for AAP in the Lok Sabha elections. He should recuse himself in the matter related to my disqualification from the Assembly.”

In response, AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj said, “It’s a well-known fact that Anil Bajpai had openly joined the BJP at a press conference. This was telecast on news channels and published in newspapers.”

“Now when any MLA changes party, he gets disqualified under the anti-defection act. Why are they so scared to admit the fact that they changed the party? It’s not just Speaker, everyone will agree that they had joined BJP. They may go to any court but they have to accept the truth,” he added.

The plea alleged that the Speaker had not entertained an application by Bajpai seeking his recusal from the case.

It said the speaker should recuse himself from deciding the anti-defection petition and constitute a committee to look into the proceedings initiated against him.

Anil Bajpai had joined the BJP on May 3, days before Delhi went to Lok Sabha polls. On June 20, AAP approached the Speaker and moved a petition seeking disqualification of two MLAs, including Bajpai.