Jaya Bachchan disqualified from Rajya Sabha

New Delhi/Lucknow, Mar 17 (UNI) Actress and Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan was disqualified from Rajya Sabha after President A P J Abdul Kalam accepted a recommendation of the Election Commission to take action against her for holding an office of profit while being a member of the Upper House.

The President's decision widened the rift between the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, which said it smacked of political vendetta on the part of the Congress.

The Law and Justice Ministry confirmed today that Dr Kalam signed a notification yesterday disqualifying Ms Bachchan on the ground that she was Chairperson of the Uttar Pradesh Film Development Council and thus holding an office of profit.

Ms Bachchan, wife of mega star Amitab Bachchan, was elected to the Rajya Sabha in January 2004. She had been appointed Chairperson of the UP Film Development Council in July the same year.

The EC had recommended that Ms Bachchan be disqualified under sub-clause (a) of Clause 1 of Article 102 of the Constitution from July 14, 2004, the day she was appointed to the UP Film Development Council.

Ms Bachchan's continuance as an MP was questioned by Congress worker Madan Mohan Shukla, a resident of Kanpur, in a petition to Dr Kalam who subsequently referred the matter to the EC for its advice.

''Having carefully considered the facts on record as contained in the opinion of the Election Commission and being fully satisfied therewith the President has disqualified Smt. Jaya Bachchan from her Rajya Sabha membership,'' a Law and Justice Ministry release said.

The Commission had conducted many hearings in which Ms Bachchan was represented by her lawyer. She had also made a representation to the President to review the EC's recommendation.

''It's a politics of vendetta. The same yardstick should also apply to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and others who are in a similar situation,'' said Abu Asim Azmi, a SP Rajya Sabha member.

Senior SP leader and UP Revenue Minister Ambika Choudhury said Ms Bachchan was the ''fittest person to be in the Rajya Sabha''.

''We are studying the entire matter and will act accordingly,'' he said.

Asked whether Ms Bachchan would be renominated to the Upper House in the coming elections, Mr Choudhury said it was hypothetical as the party would take a decision when the seat was notified vacant by the EC.

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