SP to support Office of Profit bill in Parliament

Lucknow, June 1: The Samajwadi Party today said it would support the Office of Profit Bill in Parliament, which has been returned by President A P J Abdul Kalam, while alleging that Congress President Sonia Gandhi still held some posts of profit.

Talking to mediapersons after cinestar Jaya Bachchan filed her nomination for the Rajya Sabha byelections, SP national principal general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav said his party would support the bill if re-introduced in Parliament.

However, he also claimed that Ms Gandhi held some offices of profit even after resigning from several posts.

Mr Yadav said the President's decision to return the bill and its re-introduction in Parliament was part of the constitutional process.

He claimed that the SP had never brought up the office of profit matter and ''it was the Congress which started the controversy by raking up the Jaya Bachchan issue''.

''People have been holding such posts since 1952 and no one ever raised the issue,'' he maintained.

Commenting on the Congress President's ''so called sacrifice'' of resigning from several posts, the SP leader claimed she still held some posts, which came under office of profit.

On whether Mr Amir Alam, the party's second candidate for the RS bypolls, was given a ticket to woo minority votes bank, Mr Yadav said the party had always given equal representation to all sections of society.

UNI