Office of profit bill to come up in Parliament on Tuesday

Javed M Ansari/Sanjay Singh.

 

NEW DELHI: Sonia Gandhi may have returned as an MP in the Lok Sabha, but it appears unlikely that she will return to the National Advisory Council ( NAC) either as its member or its chairperson. This despite the fact that the Government had decided to include the NAC in the list of posts that will be exempt from being categorised as being offices of profit.

 

Her membership of the NAC kicked up a political storm. Apart from the NAC the new Bill seeks to exclude 45 corporations or PSUs under the Union or the states where a parliamentarian’s presence would not be construed to be an office of profit. Prominent amongst these are the Sriniketan Santiniketan Development Authority headed by Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, the UP Development Council headed by SP leader Amar Singh. The Bill includes 16 posts or corporations held by members of the Left parties, including several headed by the SP and even the BJP.

 

The Government will introduce a bill in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday to amend the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act, 1959 to bring as many as 46 posts from being deemed ''offices of profit.'' The bill, which has been circulated among MPs, will be taken by the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. It will then be discussed in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday said Parliamentary Affairs Minister P R Dasmunsi.