THE GHOST of the office of profit has returned to haunt the Shivraj Singh Government with vengeance following the Election Commission’s notices to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh, his nine Cabinet colleagues, three BJP MLAs and one MP. The Election Commission has asked them to furnish replies before June 28 on the petition of the Leader of Opposition Jamuna Devi for the BJP leaders disqualification for holding office of profit.
Even as the jittery ministers are busy preparing their reply, the Law department’s opinion on the issue has virtually spelt doom on their future.
The Law department has made it clear to the Chief Minister Office that Agriculture Minister Chandrabhan Singh could be the only lucky survivor of the storm. Rest of the BJP leaders facing the EC notices could be disqualified. The Chief Minister, however, is unlikely to be affected as he has already tendered resignation from the Lok Sabha following victory in the Budhni by-election.
After a two-month long painstaking exercise to weigh all the pros and cons of the office of profit issue, the Law department has concluded that heads of all undertakings which are not ‘statutory bodies’ come in the ambit of the office of profit. The bodies registered under Companies Act and Societies Act could not be treated as statutory ones and, therefore, the ministers and MLAs heading them come under the ambit of office of profit, the opinion goes.
The department cited some Supreme Court rulings to corroborate the point. Some legal experts, however, are still of the view that the definition of MP Vidhan Mandal Sadasya Nirharta Nivaran Adhiniyam 1967, which was amended in 1982, might bail out the beleaguered ministers and MLAs. But the law department differs.
{{/usCountry}}The department cited some Supreme Court rulings to corroborate the point. Some legal experts, however, are still of the view that the definition of MP Vidhan Mandal Sadasya Nirharta Nivaran Adhiniyam 1967, which was amended in 1982, might bail out the beleaguered ministers and MLAs. But the law department differs.
{{/usCountry}}When contacted Principal Secretary, Law, P P Tiwari refused to comment on the issue. The Election Commission of India Secretary K F Wilfred has served notices on the ministers, asking them to file a written statement.
These notices were issued under Section 146 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, on June 7 to enable the Commission to further inquire into the matter before coming to any conclusion.
The ministers who have been served notices include Himmat Singh Kothari, Babulal Gaur, Gopal Bhargava, Yashodhara Raje Scindia, Jagdish Deora, Ramakant Tiwari, Rustam Singh, Chandrabhan Singh Chouhan, Vijay Shah and Tukojirao Panwar. The three MLAs who got the notices are Laxman Singh Gaur, Lal Singh Arya and Shivraj Shah. The lone MP facing notice is Krishnamurari Moghe.
Sushma for amnesty
Sushma Swaraj said in Bhopal on Wednesday that the Election Commission should give general amnesty to all MPs and MLAs facing proceedings on office of profit issue. She said BJP agreed with the view that there should be uniformity in defining OoP in all states and at the Centre.
Patel to file petition
Raj Kumar Patel, who lost Budhni Assembly by-poll to Shivraj Singh Chouhan recently, will file an election petition seeking to cancel the election. Patel is demanding that the polls should be annulled as CM had held two offices of profit while contesting elections.