Parleys with political parties on office of profit

      New Delhi: It's a hectic time for Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priyaranjan Das Munshi who has been meeting with leaders of political parties on the issue of redefining the 'office of profit' which has opened a political Pandora's box. Das Munshi met the Leader of the Opposition L.K.Advani today evening, as a part of Government's effort to bring a consensus among the political spectrum, as the demand for bringing a comprehensive legislation to redefine the office of profit is gaining strength. Office of profit issue which started with Jaya Bachchan's disqualification, followed by Congress President Sonia Gandhi resignation from Lok Sabha is virtually taking shape of political imbroglio in the state assemblies of Uttaranchal and Jharkhand. Earlier in the day, DasMunshi also met CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury and CPI's D Raja to get their opinion regarding the legislation. Both the Left leaders are reported to have told DasMunshi that Left had already demanded to bring a legislation when the first instance of office of profit cropped up in the form of Jaya's disqualification. Noting that neither the Supreme Court nor the Constitution of India have clearly laid the guidelines that amount to a post being termed as office of profit, both Yetchury and Raja have reported to ask him to convene an all-party meet to resolve the issue. Earlier, Das Munshi had also met Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh and the two leaders are supposed to have discussed this issue.

Anil Ambani resigns from Rajya Sabha

      New Delhi: Chairman of Reliance Capital, Reliance Infocomm and Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Energy Limited Anil Dhirubhai Ambani today resigned as the Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha. Anil, who was elected as an independent member of the Rajya Sabha with the support of Samajwadi Party in June 2004, is also a member of the Uttar Pradesh Development Council (UPDC). While announcing his resignation, Anil, in a statement said that there has been no suggestion that there is any issue in his continuing as a member of UPDC after being elected to the Rajya Sabha. "It is my firm view that in public life one must uphold the highest standards of transparency, propriety and ethics and avoid any possibility of controversy, however remote or unlikely. Keeping this in mind, I have decided to tender my resignation from Rajya Sabha with immediate effect," he said. Anil is also the Chairman of Board of Governors of DA-IICT, Gandhinagar and a member of the Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. He is member of the Board of Governors, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. He is also a member of the Central Advisory Committee, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission.

Sonia supporters show solidarity

      New Delhi/Rae Bareilly: Hundreds of supporters of Congress party president Sonia Gandhi gathered in capital New Delhi on Saturday to show their solidarity with the party chief. Sonia shocked her supporters and wrong-footed the Opposition by quitting her parliamentary seat and a government advisory body on charges of violation of the constitution by holding both posts. A score of supporters have seen rallying since she quit the post on moral grounds on March 23.

    Meanwhile, Congress leader and office-bearer of the All India Congress Committee Ashok Gehlot, said the resignations tendered by other lawmakers from Parliament following Gandhi's resignations were purely an emotional reaction. "Sonia Gandhi did not ask anybody to resign. Those who are tendering their resignations are doing it purely on the basis of their emotions," Gehlot told reporters. In her home constituency Rae Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, a torchlight rally was taken out on Friday in her support. The saga had begun when a Congress politician in Uttar Pradesh served a petition against Jaya Bachchan, wife of Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan, arguing she had violated the constitution by holding an "office of profit" at the same time as serving in Parliament. When Jaya, a lawmaker from the regional Samajwadi Party, was disqualified from Parliament as a result, the Opposition saw its opportunity. The same law could be used, they argued, to disqualify Sonia Gandhi and many other legislators. The constitution bars members of Parliament from holding a government post that entitles them to pay and perks. Sonia's role as head of the National Advisory Council -- which offers the government policy advice -- fitted that description, the Opposition argued. Congress seemed to panic, abruptly adjourning Parliament and mooting an emergency ordinance to change the law. That, countered the Opposition angrily, would subvert parliamentary democracy. While Sonia may have got off the hook, some of the mud will stick to her party and its government, analysts said. Shocked Congress workers from other parts of the country, meanwhile, continued their demand to Sonia to reconsider her decision, while protesting against Bharatiya Janata Party for singling out their leader. Analysts, however, said Sonia might have succeeded in limiting the damage to her party's government by her action.

Scindia, 25 MP MLAs follow Sonia

      Bhopal: Following the controversy over the 'office of profit' issue, 25 Congress MLAs from Madhya Pradesh and Lok Sabha member Jyotiraditya Scindia have reportedly submitted their resignations to express their 'solidarity' with Congress President Sonia Gandhi. The 25 MLAs along with Scindia met the party president in New Delhi this morning and submitted their resignations. The MLAs delegation was led by Leader of Opposition in Assembly Jamuna Devi, and included the state unit chief, Subhash Yadav. The letter was signed by 38 MLAs. "Expressing full faith and dedication in your leadership we want to resign from the membership of Vidhan Sabha," the partymen said in the letter.

    According to the party sources, Sonia Gandhi has said that she will not accept their resignations. The Congress has 38 MLAs in the 230 member Assembly. The issue was raised by the leaders of Opposition yesterday in the state Assembly as they were demanding the resignation of 11 state ministers, including Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. They also held state-wide protests yesterday, seeking resignation of Chouhan, the state ministers and some BJP MLAs besides submitting a memorandum to Governor Balram Jakhar. The Election Commission yesterday received presidential reference regarding 10 Members of Parliament, including Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, for alleged holding of an office of profit. Chief Election Commissioner B.B. Tandon said: "The President has issued a notification that was referred to the Election Commission for verification". Names of Karan Singh, Subbirami Reddy, Kapila Vatsayan, Mukul Roy, Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma, Chandrapal Singh, Nilotpal Basu and Sanjay Jharadia have also appeared in the Presidential reference to the Election Commission. The controversy on the issue erupted after another Member of Parliament actor-turned-lawmaker Jaya Bachchan was disqualified this month for serving as head of a state cinema development board. Since then, several petitions have been filed against other members of parliament, including Gandhi, whose party came to power at the head of a Communist-backed coalition in May 2004. Congress Party president and UPA Chairperson, Sonia Gandhi on Thursday resigned from the membership of the Lok Sabha as well as from the post of Chairperson of the National Advisory Council. About 40 other lawmakers, both in the ruling coalition and the opposition, are believed to be holding offices of profit.

Office of profit controversy in Jharkhand

      Ranchi: The Opposition in Jharkhand today staged protest before the Raj Bhavan demanding dismissal of those National Democratic Alliance (NDA) MLAs, who have been blamed to be involved in the office of profit issue. JMM, Congress, RJD and other constituents of UPA took part in the protest. "We will not bear the injustice meted out to us. They believe that they will pressurise us like they did in Uttar Padesh. We will take the matter to the people and agitate to drive home the point," said Neal Tirkey, a Congress MLA. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Arjun Munda has raised suspicion over the behaviour of Raj Bhavan and asked the Governor to act in impartial manner. "The Governor is constitutionally very key post. The State Government takes decision on the behalf of Governor. Governor should keep it in mind on how to discharge his duty according to the constitution," said Munda. The office of profit issue unleashed by the Congress is in the grips of the domino effect. The Jharkhand legislature on Friday witnessed an action replay of the scenes that occurred in the UP assembly when the Mulayam Singh Yadav government passed a bill aimed to protect SP leaders Jaya Bachchan and Amar Singh's Rajya Sabha seats. Amidst Opposition uproar and pandemonium, the Arjun Munda government on Friday passed bill to save four NDA MLAs holding offices of profit. Interestingly, the UP bill passed on March 9, is called the UP State Legislature (Prevention of Disqualification Amendment) Bill 2006, whereas Friday's bill is called Jharkhand State Legislate (Removal of Disqualification) Bill 2006. The subtle variation in the nomenclature of the two bills could be read as the story of he events in between, but it is not just in name that the two events are similar. Opposition members from Congress, JMM and other parties were repeatedly demanding the resignation of the four NDA members- Karia Munda, who heads the 20-point programme implementation committee, Chhatruram Mahto heading the state Agriculture Marketing Board, Saryu Roy, vice-chairman of the state planning board and Khiru Mahto, chairman of the Hazaribag Mines Board. .

Back to Headlines                  Go To Top