Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel on Friday disqualified rebel Aam Aadmi Party MLA Kapil Mishra under the anti-defection law. Mishra, who represented Karawal Nagar in the Assembly, had campaigned for Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Lok Sabha elections, reported The Times of India.
AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj had sought Mishra’s disqualification under the 10th schedule of Constitution on July 1. In his petition, Bharadwaj had pointed out that Mishra has voluntarily given up the party’s membership.
After the disqualification order, Mishra said he was willing to sacrifice his legislator post for Modi a hundred times over. He also announced he would campaign for the prime minister in the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections.
Mishra said he will challenge the “undemocratic and illegal” order in the Delhi High Court on Monday, reported the Hindustan Times. “I was given no opportunity for cross-examination, as promised,” he said. “On what basis did the Speaker disqualify me, because as per the rules, first the party needs to summon me.”
Mishra was sacked as the AAP government’s minister of water resources in Delhi in 2017. He has time and again hit out at party chief and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and accused him of corruption. He had once accused Kejriwal of being a Maoist.
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