NDA urges President to reject any "Sonia bacho" Ordinance

New Delhi, Mar 22 (UNI) An NDA delegation led by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today met President APJ Abdul Kalam to register their "sense of anguish and outrage over the Government's decision to adjourn both Houses of Parliament sine die "solely and exclusively for the purpose of promulgating an ordinance to save Shrimati Sonia Gandhi, President of the Congress Party and Chairperson of the National Advisory Council, from certain disqualification on the grounds of holding an ''Office of Profit".

"We strongly condemn the brazen assault that the UPA government has mounted on the established principle and practice of the parliamentary system by getting the both Houses adjourned sine die, paving the way for Parliament to be prorogued.

Meanwhile, Parliamentary delegations of Samajwadi Party and Telugu Desam, comprising 70 MPs, also called on the President to protest on the issue.

In a memorandum submitted to the President, the NDA reminded that only last week, Congress leaders were gloating over his approval for a recommendation by the Election Commission to disqualify Mrs jaya Bachchan from Rajya Sabha, a member of Samajwadi Party, for holding an office of profit. The application seeking her disqualification was moved by none but a Congress member from Uttar Pradesh.

But now that it had emerged that Mrs Gandhi was also holding an office of profit, under the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualfication) Act, 1959, the Congress was desperate to protect her from "this legal predicament," it said.

Since the ordinance cannot be introduced unless Parliament is prorogued the government adjourned it sine die, it alleged, adding the intended ordinance is meant to exempt her office from the provisions of the act, so that "she can continue to reign as India's "Super Prime Minister".

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