No decision yet on office of profit: PM

New Delhi, Mar 29 (UNI) Ahead of the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA) meeting tomorrow, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said the government was still consulting ''everybody'' on the political crisis arising from office-of-profit controversy.

''We will look at the problems and find possible solutions,'' Dr Singh told reporters after attending a function at Rashtrapati Bhavan where President APJ Abdul Kalam gave away Padma Awards.

Asked whether there was a proposal to entirely do away with the concept of office of profit, he said ''these are all issues which will have to be examined in the light of the developments'' which involved the resignation of Congress President Sonia Gandhi as an MP and as the Chairperson of the National Advisory Council (NAC).

Clarifying that the NAC was very much in existence, Dr Singh said the problem arising from the resignation of Ms Gandhi would be ''sorted out'' and praised the Congress President for rendering ''excellent service'' as its Chairperson by drawing the government's attention to neglected areas such as the social sector.

To a question on the potential threat to the survival of some state governments in the wake of the office-of-profit controversy, he said these would be taken into consideration while looking for a solution.

The President has forwarded several complaints to the Election Commission, seeking the disqualification of as many as 18 MPs, including Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, and ruling coalition MLAs in Jharkhand.

Parying a question whether an all party meet would be convened, he said ''everybody'' was being consulted.

Mr Chatterjee told reporters he was not quitting as he was ''convinced that I am not guilty'' of holding any office of profit.

If that was the case, ''why should I resign,'' he quipped.

He said he was confident of coming out clean and prove that the posts of the chairmanship of the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation and the Shanti Niketan Trust were not offices of profit.

Dr Singh paried a question on the Supreme Court verdict upholding the government's right to retrench employees working in departments declared redundant, stating that he was yet to study it.

Asked about the progress in the government's proposal for extending reservation to the private sector, he said this was still with the Group of Ministers (GoM).

UNI SN/YJ PR HT1805