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Office-of-Profit issue : Sonia turns the tables on BJP, Left

	March 27, 2006

Congress President Sonia Gandhi resigned from the Lok Sabha and as Chairperson of the National Advisory Council on Thursday, March 23, effectively turning the tables on the opposition BJP and the Left parties supporting the UPA Government from outside, who had been critical of the abrupt end of the Budget Session of Parliament on Wednesday, March 22. Immediately after both Houses of Parliament were adjourned sine die, the Opposition, specially the BJP, had alleged that the move was aimed at enabling the Government to promulgate an ordinance to amend the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act, 1959. The Opposition said that this was to save Sonia Gandhi from losing her Lok Sabha seat on the ground that as NAC chairperson, she was holding an office of profit. The Left parties had not come out openly against the move, but the Samajwadi Party, also supporting the Government from outside, had protested vigorously against it.



BJP leaders even met President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam to protest against the adjournment of Parliament sine die, when according to the earlier schedule, it was to be adjourned to meet for the second spell of the Budget session later.



In the event, Sonia Gandhi’s resignation has shifted the focus to the fate of other Members of Parliament and State legislatures who are facing charges that they hold offices of profit and should be disqualified from Parliament/State legislatures. As things have panned out, the other parties are now looking forward to expansion of the list of offices exempt from disqualification so that their members can continue in Parliament and State legislatures.



In her statement resigning from the Lok Sabha and the National Advisory Council, Sonia Gandhi said that she was anguished over attempts by some persons to create an atmosphere that the Government and Parliament were being used for her benefit. She said that she did not step into political and public life for personal gains. “It was only to serve the country, society and protect secular values. Keeping in view her values of public life, ideals of politics and beliefs, she had tendered her resignation.”



Sonia Gandhi, however, expressed confidence that people of her Rae Bareli constituency and the country would understand her sentiments.



To a question, she said she decided to resign, as it was “the right thing to do.”



Asked if she planned to contest again, she declared that she would do so from Rae Bareli.



Prior to her announcement, the Congress president informed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about her decision. Dr. Singh arrived at her residence and left before the announcement.



Senior party leaders, including Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Home Minister Shivraj Patil, AICC general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi and her political secretary Ahmed Patel, were present. Rahul Gandhi was around when she announced her decision.



The development turned the course of political discourse, with the Congress asserting that she had proved that she was above considerations of office, and the Bharatiya Janata Party describing it as a step that followed its intense pressure.



Later, she called on Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and handed over her resignation letter. It was accepted with immediate effect, the Speaker’s office said.



The Prime Minister accepted Sonia Gandhi’s resignation as Chairperson of the National Advisory Council.





Flurry of resignations from Congressmen



Sonia Gandhi’s resignation set off a flurry of resignations from Congressmen who wanted to quit to show their solidarity withthe party president. Some of them may come within the purview of the Office of Profit concept while others appeared to be resigning just to express their support for her. One of the earliest to offer to quit was Rajya Sabha member and former Union Minister Dr. Karan Singh. He had been accused by the opposition of holding an office of profit by being chairman of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. Sources say that he sent his resignation letter to both Rajya Sabha Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.



Congress MPs from Madhya Pradesh Jyotiraditya Scindia and Minister of State for Personnel Suresh Pachouri and 25 MLAs from the state met Sonia Gandhi on Saturday, March 25, and offered to resign. Sonia Gandhi is reported to have rejected their plea to quit. A large number of Congress workers have also been staying put outside Sonia Gandhi’s 10 Janpath residence in New Delhi since she announced her decision to resign on Thursday.





Left MPs not to quit on Office of Profit issue



The CPI(M) has said that its MPs accused of holding offices of profit will not quit. They will face the charges. Among those charged with holding office of profit, is Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee. He is holding the honorary post of Chairman of the Shantiniketan-Sriniketan Development Authority. It is believed that there are at least nine other Left MPs who occupy similar posts and may have to say goodbye to Parliament in case they do not get relief either through an ordinance or new legislation from the Government. The CPI(M) politburo in a note issued on Thursday, March 23, said, “The CPI(M) is of the view that Parliament should immediately undertake legislation in order to put certain offices held by members of Parliament outside the purview of “office of profit” until the House comprehensively defines what is an “office of profit.” The note said that under the Constitution, Parliament is empowered to decide on the definition of office of profit and exempt any office from disqualifying its holder under the office of profit clause.



The BJP is also facing a similar predicament, especially in some states like Jharkhand, where several party MLAs face disqualification on the charge of holding offices of profit. The State Governor has sent their cases to the Election Commission and in case of their disqualification, the Arjun Munda Government in the state may be reduced to a minority in the Assembly.



The BJP on the record has described Sonia Gandhi’s resignation as “mere grandstanding that will not do.” But observers say that the party has been taken aback by Sonia Gandhi’s sudden decision to quit. BJP president Rajnath Singh virtually charged Sonia Gandhi with lack of courage to face Parliament and an inquiry by the Election Commission. He said that she was running away from the charges leveled against her.





Consultations begin on office-of-profit



Following the Prime Minister’s statement on Thursday that all options are open on modification of the legal provisions on office of profit, the Government has begun consultations with the Opposition and other parties on redefining the office of profit clause. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi, met leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha L.K. Advani to get BJP’s views on the issue. The issue of convening an urgent Parliament session to discuss the matter was also gone into.



Stung by BJP criticism that the Congress was “subverting” Parliamentary and constitutional norms to “protect” Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Dasmunshi said on Friday that the Government was not thinking of issuing any ordinance on the subject, nor was there any move to enact any legislation.



It is not very clear whether Dasmunshi’s meeting with Advani and other party leaders will pave the way for an all-party meeting on this subject or straightaway an agreement will be reached on calling an early session of Parliament to amend the Act to save several State Governments that would otherwise fall if a number of ruling legislators were disqualified for holding offices of profit.



Political parties, including those of the NDA, are now trying to cope with the problem of a flood of “complaints” lodged against their legislators seeking their disqualification. Some Governors have already forwarded the complaints to the Election Commission. The Left parties have stated that they favour legislation on the office of profit issue to make the law clear. The BJP has demanded the “immediate reconvening” of Parliament to discuss the issue threadbare with a view to enact legislation.





Complaints against 16 MPs with Election Commission



The Election Commission has said that President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam had forwarded to it complaints against 16 Members of Parliament seeking their disqualification for holding offices of profit. They include Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee. Chief Election Commissioner B.B. Tandon told newspersons in New Delhi on March 24 that complaints filed by Yerran Naidu and others against Sonia Gandhi, Karan Singh, T. Subbarami Reddy, Kapila Vatsyayan and Chandrapal Singh Yadav were received the day before.



The CEC said the Election Commission on Friday received a reference from the Jharkhand Governor in regard to four MLAs - Khiru Mahato, Karia Munda, Chatrulal Ram Mahato and Saryu Rai - whose disqualification had been sought.



When it was pointed out that Sonia Gandhi, Dr. Karan Singh and Dr. Vatsyayan had already resigned, the CEC said, “We will reply to the President accordingly.” In respect of others, the Commission would follow the due process of law, he added.







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Even Advisory Posts are offices of profit : Election Commission



The Election Commission has held that advisory posts under the Government also come within the ambit of office of profit. The Commission’s finding came in its quasi-judicial order recommending the disqualification of Samajwadi Party Rajya Sabha member Jaya Bachchan. The Commission said that though her post as chairperson of the Uttar Pradesh Film Development Council was only advisory, it was covered by the office of profit clause.



In its order, the Commission citing Supreme Court judgments laid down five criteria for determining an “office of profit”- whether the government makes the appointment of the holder of the office; whether the government has the right to remove or dismiss the holder; whether the government pays remuneration; what are the functions of the holder and does he perform them for the government and whether the government exercises any control over the performance of these functions.



In the light of these criteria, the Commission held that even if a post created by the government was only “advisory”, the holder would come within the purview of the disqualifications mentioned in Article 102(1)(a) of the Constitution.



This finding assumes significance in the context of arguments by the Congress party that the office of chairperson of the National Advisory Council held by Sonia Gandhi was only for the purpose of giving advice and it would not come within the purview of ‘office of profit’ for the purpose of disqualification as a Member of Parliament.



The Commission said that it was clear from the U.P. Government order appointing Jaya Bachchan as chairperson of the UPFDC that she enjoyed the status of a Cabinet Minister with attendant benefits and facilities. It noted that Jaya Bachchan’s appointment was made by the State Government, which also had the power to terminate it. The expenditure on the maintenance of the office was wholly borne by it and it controlled its functioning.



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Ruling parties in trouble in several states



The office of profit controversy has created problems for the ruling parties in several states. The Jharkhand Assembly passed a Bill to prevent disqualification of its members on Friday, March 24, amid Opposition protests and bedlam in the House. Under the new legislation, holding of the post of Board, Corporation, Parliament Secretaries and others will not be counted as office of profit. A total of 22 posts have been included in the list.



Meanwhile, Jharkhand Governor Syed Sibtey Razi has referred the case of 13 legislators to the Election Commission. The Governor said he had sought the opinion of the Election Commission on a number of petitions from the Opposition seeking disqualification of the legislators on holding an office of profit. Later he also sent a complaint regarding Chief Minister Arjun Munda on a similar ground to the Election Commission.



In the Madhya Pradesh Assembly, Congress members made a vociferous demand on March 24 for the resignation of the state chief minister and several of his cabinet colleagues for heading state owned autonomous corporations. The Assembly was later adjourned sine die after the Speaker rushed through the business listed for the day even as Congress members continued to protest and raised slogans in the well of the House. Leader of the Opposition Jamuna Devi said that there was a constitutional crisis as State Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, who is also a Member of Parliament, is heading a state-owned autonomous corporation. She alleged that as many as 10 other Ministers in the state are also holding offices of profit like the Chief Minister.



Later, a delegation of Congress legislators led by Jamuna Devi called on Governor Balram Jhakar and submitted a memorandum demanding removal of the Chief Minister for holding an office of profit.



In Jammu and Kashmir, four Congress MLAs have stepped down from the posts of chairman of various corporations and boards. Deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Hussein Beg announced this in Jammu.



In Punjab, the BJP has sought disqualification of 12 Congress MLAs for holding offices of profit as chairpersons of government undertakings.



In Uttaranchal, the N.D. Tiwari government has introduced a Bill in the Assembly to prevent disqualification of MLAs on the ground of holding posts of chairpersons or other office bearers of 27 government boards. The Bill is to have retrospective effect from Nov. 9, 2000.





Anil Ambani quits Rajya Sabha



Business tycoon and Independent Member of the Rajya Sabha Anil Ambani has resigned from the House saying he is abiding by “highest standards of transparency.” An announcement by his business group said that he has taken the step as he wanted to avoid the office of profit controversy in view of his membership of the Uttar Pradesh Development Council. Political observers, however, view it as a move to distance himself from Mulayam Singh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party and focus instead on his business. They say that Anil Ambani faced no real danger of disqualification and his resignation appears to be a move to cut his losses.



In view of the fact that he enjoys the support of the Samajwadi Party, his resignation is being seen as a move by the chairman of Reliance-ADAG to distance himself from politics at a time when the Samajwadi Party is locked in a running battle with the Congress over many issues, the most recent one being the disqualification of its MP Jaya Bachchan.