UP upgrades UPDC to save Amar Singh's RS membership

Lucknow, Mar 29: Uttar Pradesh government today passed a bill in assembly upgrading UP Development Council into an autonomous body with powers like local authority, thus taking another step to save the disqualification process against Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh.

Although BJP members protested the passing of bill in a hurry and demanded it be referred to the house's select committee, chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav said the only motive to upgrade UPDC was to give more teeth for development.

When passed and approved by the UP Governor, UPDC Act-2006 would be implemented with retrospective effect from October 15, 2003, the day when the Council was registered under the Societies Act.

Yadav maintained the present UPDC members did not take a single penny from the government exchequer and challenged that no state could form ''such a strong development council.'' ''Our motive is to prevent foreign MNCs from ruining the country's industrial sector,'' he said alleging harassment of the UPDC members by the centre.

He claimed if politics was not played to ''derail the development process'' in UP, the investment environment would have been different. ''If the opposition wants, the government will have a long debate on UPDC in the next session.'' However, BJP member Hukum Singh maintained that the only effort of the UPDC Bill 2006 was to save the disqualification of RS member Amar Singh, who happens to be the UPDC chairman.

''Now it is time to change the defination of the post of profit, since almost all political parties have suffered due to its present form,'' Singh added.

Another BJP member Laxmi Kant Vajpayee wanted to know from the government why the bill was enforced with retrospective effect from October 15, 2003.

Leader of the opposition Lalji Tandon wanted it mandatory for UPDC to go for audit by a responsible agency.

UP government had passed a bill early this month exempting 79 posts of chairpersons of various councils, boards and corporations in UP as offices of profit. UPDC Bill 2006 has all the provisions of an authority with wide powers. For example it can summon any government file and recommend its suggestion for implementation.

The chairman of the new council would be appointed by the state government for a term of five years.

Altogether 11 persons from the department would be its members, while the chief secretary would be its convenor. Another 12 renowned persons would be nominated by the government along with some special invitees. The chairman and the members of the new UPDC would not be paid any salary.

According to the bill, the motive behind conversion was to give more powers to the council for faster development of UP. It said the present council was formed on October 15, 2003 and it attracted investment worth more than Rs 33,000 crore in the state.

Election Commission was considering Amar Singh's disqualification from Rajya Sabha (RS) for holding post of profit as UPDC chairman.

Earlier, President A P J Abdul Kalam had disqualified cinestar Jaya Bachchan from the RS for holding post of chairperson of UP Film Development Council -- termed as office of profit.

Last week, Congress President Sonia Gandhi also resigned from her Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat and National Advisory Council chairperson post over the controversy.

UNI