Govt blinks on Office of Profit Bill
JPC To Study Prez Proposals
With President A P J Abdul Kalam giving no indication that he would budge on holding assent to the Officeof-Profit Bill before August 24 by when Election Commission could start proceedings of disqualification of 45 MPs supporting the ruling coalition, the UPA government blinked on Thursday, signalling its readiness to consider incorporating his suggestions in the proposed law.
In a move aimed at appeasing Rashtrapati Bhavan and warding off the uncertainty about parliamentary berths of its supporters, the government announced the setting up of a 15-member Joint Parliamentary Committee to examine the three reservations that President Kalam had cited while denying assent to the Bill in the first round. Government sources conceded that creating the panel could be a step towards re-writing the law in accordance with the President’s suggestions.
The government had brushed aside caveats suggested by the President and endorsed by the opposition to get the Bill passed by Parliament and sent to Rashtrapati Bhavan in its original form. It, however, panicked when the President showed no sign of giving in. Its desperation also stemmed from the fact that while the Constitution obliges the President to give his assent to a Bill which is sent to him a second time, it does not lay down a time-frame for this.
The defiance contrasted sharply with the anxiety it showed on Thursday in Lok Sabha. The motion for the constitution of the JPC was moved without any intimation and, unusually, without the names of members, betraying an anxiety to secure assent for the Bill before EC set the disqualification ball rolling.
The move came 48 hours after a 15-minute conversation between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Kalam during the “At Home” hosted at Rashtrapati Bhavan on the evening of Independence Day.
The OoP issue is learnt to have figured in the discussion held against the backdrop of mounting anxiety and the looming August 25 deadline set by EC to take up petitions seeking disqualification of MPs holding offices of profit.
The government made no bones about the fact that the brief of the JPC had specifically been tailored to address the three caveats entered by the President, and which had earlier been brushed aside by the government as irrelevant and impractical.
The panel has been assigned to come up with a comprehensive definition of “office of profit”. It has also been asked to devise generic and comprehensive criteria applicable to all states and Union Territories on what constitutes an “office of profit”.
KALAM EFFECT
A 15-member JPC will examine the three objections raised by Kalam while refusing assent to the Bill
It will also look at a British law which enables Parliament to add to the list of offices of profit annually
Govt is pressed for time as Election Commission can move to disqualify 45 MPs supporting UPA after Aug 24 Parliamentary panel to look at UK law on office of profit
The joint parliamentary committee being set up by the government on the Office of Profit Bill will examine the feasibility of adoption of a system of law for prevention of disqualification of Members of Parliament as existing in the United Kingdom and considered by the Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, 1976.
Besides the President, the opposition also faulted government for not addressing the issues of a comprehensive definition of profit and the criteria for judging what constitutes an office of profit through the Bill which has been lying with the President.
Apart from Kalam’s suggestions, government has added a clause on its own to the term of reference of the JPC, which asks the committee to ‘‘examine the feasibility of adoption of a system of law relating to prevention of disqualification of MPs as existing in the UK’’. The British law enables Parliament to add to the list of offices-of-profit almost annually by a resolution.
Given the concern of ruling coalition partners and the Left who will constitute the majority, the JPC is expected to work furiously and submit its findings by the time Parliament re-convenes for the winter session. Law minister H R Bhardwaj said the Bill will have to be amended in keeping with the recommendations of the JPC and brought before Parliament afresh.
In the meantime, all MPs holding “offices of profit”, including LS Speaker, can only hope EC does not act on the petitions seeking disqualification. To keep up the pressure, BJP, which claimed vindication, demanded that all concerned MPs must relinquish their “offices of profit” at once.
Government hoped that the EC would exercise restraint till the JPC finished its assignment, but conceded that there was nothing but “a sense of respect for other institutions” which could deter the poll watchdog from moving ahead if it decided so.
JPC To Study Prez Proposals
With President A P J Abdul Kalam giving no indication that he would budge on holding assent to the Officeof-Profit Bill before August 24 by when Election Commission could start proceedings of disqualification of 45 MPs supporting the ruling coalition, the UPA government blinked on Thursday, signalling its readiness to consider incorporating his suggestions in the proposed law.
In a move aimed at appeasing Rashtrapati Bhavan and warding off the uncertainty about parliamentary berths of its supporters, the government announced the setting up of a 15-member Joint Parliamentary Committee to examine the three reservations that President Kalam had cited while denying assent to the Bill in the first round. Government sources conceded that creating the panel could be a step towards re-writing the law in accordance with the President’s suggestions.
The government had brushed aside caveats suggested by the President and endorsed by the opposition to get the Bill passed by Parliament and sent to Rashtrapati Bhavan in its original form. It, however, panicked when the President showed no sign of giving in. Its desperation also stemmed from the fact that while the Constitution obliges the President to give his assent to a Bill which is sent to him a second time, it does not lay down a time-frame for this.
The defiance contrasted sharply with the anxiety it showed on Thursday in Lok Sabha. The motion for the constitution of the JPC was moved without any intimation and, unusually, without the names of members, betraying an anxiety to secure assent for the Bill before EC set the disqualification ball rolling.
The move came 48 hours after a 15-minute conversation between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Kalam during the “At Home” hosted at Rashtrapati Bhavan on the evening of Independence Day.
The OoP issue is learnt to have figured in the discussion held against the backdrop of mounting anxiety and the looming August 25 deadline set by EC to take up petitions seeking disqualification of MPs holding offices of profit.
The government made no bones about the fact that the brief of the JPC had specifically been tailored to address the three caveats entered by the President, and which had earlier been brushed aside by the government as irrelevant and impractical.
The panel has been assigned to come up with a comprehensive definition of “office of profit”. It has also been asked to devise generic and comprehensive criteria applicable to all states and Union Territories on what constitutes an “office of profit”.
KALAM EFFECT
A 15-member JPC will examine the three objections raised by Kalam while refusing assent to the Bill
It will also look at a British law which enables Parliament to add to the list of offices of profit annually
Govt is pressed for time as Election Commission can move to disqualify 45 MPs supporting UPA after Aug 24 Parliamentary panel to look at UK law on office of profit
The joint parliamentary committee being set up by the government on the Office of Profit Bill will examine the feasibility of adoption of a system of law for prevention of disqualification of Members of Parliament as existing in the United Kingdom and considered by the Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, 1976.
Besides the President, the opposition also faulted government for not addressing the issues of a comprehensive definition of profit and the criteria for judging what constitutes an office of profit through the Bill which has been lying with the President.
Apart from Kalam’s suggestions, government has added a clause on its own to the term of reference of the JPC, which asks the committee to ‘‘examine the feasibility of adoption of a system of law relating to prevention of disqualification of MPs as existing in the UK’’. The British law enables Parliament to add to the list of offices-of-profit almost annually by a resolution.
Given the concern of ruling coalition partners and the Left who will constitute the majority, the JPC is expected to work furiously and submit its findings by the time Parliament re-convenes for the winter session. Law minister H R Bhardwaj said the Bill will have to be amended in keeping with the recommendations of the JPC and brought before Parliament afresh.
In the meantime, all MPs holding “offices of profit”, including LS Speaker, can only hope EC does not act on the petitions seeking disqualification. To keep up the pressure, BJP, which claimed vindication, demanded that all concerned MPs must relinquish their “offices of profit” at once.
Government hoped that the EC would exercise restraint till the JPC finished its assignment, but conceded that there was nothing but “a sense of respect for other institutions” which could deter the poll watchdog from moving ahead if it decided so.
