OoP bill: Kalam forwards complaint against Jairam

New Delhi, July 19: President A P J Abdul Kalam has forwarded to the Election Commission a complaint seeking disqualification of Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh as a Rajya Sabha member for holding an office of profit (oop).

According to the complaint, filed by Rashtriya Mukhti Morcha President Ravindra Kumar, Mr Ramesh was holding an OOP by virtue of his being a member of the National Advisory Council (NAC) and as such comes under the purview of the law pertaining to disqualification of MPs and other legislators.

Earlier, Congress President and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi had quit as NAC Chairperson and an MP following a similar complaint against her. She has subsequently been re-elected to the Lok Sabha from Rae Bareli.

The President has received several complaints seeking disqualification of a large number of MPs and MLAs under the OOP law which prevents the legislators from holding such offices following the disqualification of Rajya Sabha MP Jaya Bachchan for holding an OOP as Chairperson of UP Film Development Corporation.

In order to defuse the crisis arising from such complaints, both Houses of Parliament passed a Bill seeking to add about 55 more offices, including the NAC, to the list of exempted list under the disqualification law.

The President, however, has returned the Bill without giving his assent and advising the government to have a rethink on the issue.

He has reportedly taken exception to giving retrospective effect to the proposed Act.

UNI

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