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Issuing a clarification on the BJP's demand for President's rule, senior AAP leader and Minister in the Arvind Kejriwal cabinet Atishi stated that no constitutional provision bars 'governance from jail', citing the law of the land i.e Representation of the People Act, 1951 and GNCTD Act.
The Delhi Minister said it is a political conspiracy of the BJP-led Central Government to undermine democratically elected opposition governments using the Enforcement Directorate (ED), suggesting that opposition Chief Ministers could be coerced into resigning or face arrest under draconian sections of the PMLA. Atishi emphasized that the President's rule should be a last resort, citing Supreme Court precedent. "The BJP is leveraging institutions such as the CBI, ED, and Election Commission to target opposition parties and leaders, particularly Arvind Kejriwal, the only leader Narendra Modi fears and sees as a challenger," Atishi said. "The Representation of People's Act, 1951, clearly states about the disqualification of a Chief Minister or legislator- a person convicted for an offence and sentenced to two years or above shall be disqualified from the date of such conviction. This does not apply to a person who is only accused and has not been adjudged as guilty by a court of law. And the GNCTD Act is also very clear that one cannot continue serving as the Chief Minister if they have lost the majority in the house," she added. Atishi pointed out that in this case, none of these conditions are met, so under what conditions will the President's rule be imposed? "Otherwise, it is a very simple formula to bring down all the opposition governments. You have the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in your hands, they don't require any proof, and leaders don't get bail when they get arrested under PMLA. So all opposition Chief Ministers will be arrested under PMLA. And they will be told that you either resign or we will bring down the government and implement President rule," the Delhi Cabinet Minister added. Minister Atishi further added that the law of the land is very clear. The President's rule can only be imposed when there is no other choice. Issue of Article 356 has gone to the Supreme Court multiple times and it has repeatedly ruled that presidential rule can only be implemented when there is no other choice left for the governance of that state. "You have the CBI, the ED, the income tax department. You have the State Bank of India. The State Bank of India refused to give up electoral bonds. The Election Commission of India which is removing senior officers in all opposition states, the Home Secretary has changed, the DGP has changed, and they are neither touching the ED nor CBI. They are not touching the income tax department. The Aam Aadmi Party has been asking for time from the election commission for the past three days. We have not been given time. Delhi police are refusing to permit the rally we are having in Ram Leela Maidan," she added. (ANI)
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