New Delhi, June 3 : The Samajwadi Party Saturday urged the central government to respect President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s opinion on the controversial office of profit bill and asked it to define the concept before bringing the legislation in parliament. Reiterating that his party would support the bill when it comes to parliament during monsoon session, Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh said the government should pass the bill with a clear definition of the concept of office of profit as sought by Kalam.
"The president’s opinion should be respected," he told reporters here and added: "But it is a must to pass the bill." Kalam has returned for reconsideration by both houses of parliament the bill seeking to exempt 46 positions from being classified as offices of profit. It was passed by parliament during the budget session last month.
The president questioned the criteria for exempting various posts and said it should be fair, reasonable and transparent. An embarrassed United Progressive Alliance government has decided to bring in the bill again during parliament’s monsoon session.
The bill exempted the posts held by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee along with other prominent leaders. Following the row over the issue, Gandhi had resigned as an MP and chairperson of National Advisory Council, but was re-elected to the Lok Sabha from Rae Bareli last month. Amar Singh also ridiculed the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) "double-stand" on the bill.
"We are not like the BJP, which on the one hand passed a bill in Jharkhand but is opposing the same at the centre," he said. Amar Singh, a Rajya Sabha MP, who himself had faced the threat of disqualification for holding the post of chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Development Council before the state government exempted it from the list of offices of profit, said the concept should be clearly defined in the new bill. The Samajwadi Party leader, who had been holding a campaign against Sonia Gandhi, said the Congress chief should not take up any other posts.
"Even if this bill is passed, (Samajwadi Party leader and actor) Jaya Bachchan will not be holding the post of UP Film Development Corporation. Sonia Gandhi also should not hold any such office." The controversy over the office of profit started after Bachchan was disqualified as Rajya Sabha member for holding the post of chairperson of Uttar Pradesh Film Development Corporation. Bachchan filed her nomination Thursday for election to the Rajya Sabha.
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