OoP Bill tabled amid protest

SPEAKER ISHWARDAS Rohani on Wednesday allowed the State Government to table an amendment Bill seeking to include a number of new posts, which the State MLAs would be allowed to hold without coming under the purview of Office of Profit clause, disallowing all the objections raised by the Opposition Congress.

SPEAKER ISHWARDAS Rohani on Wednesday allowed the State Government to table an amendment Bill seeking to include a number of new posts, which the State MLAs would be allowed to hold without coming under the purview of Office of Profit clause, disallowing all the objections raised by the Opposition Congress.

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The Congress MLAs including Satyadev Katare, Sajjan Singh Verma and CPM MLA Ramlakhan Sharma said that the Bill is incomplete since it does not have financial statement. Moreover, Governor’s approval for tabling the Bill has also not been obtained. They said the Bill has been brought in haste and the Government should be asked to complete all the formalities and table the Bill on Thursday instead.

Minister for Legislative Affairs Dr Narottam Mishra, who had tabled the Bill, however, said that financial statement was not required to be tabled along with the Bill because it would not lead to any additional financial burden on the State Government. Further, there could be no intention of bypassing the Governor in the matter, he added.

Rohani, while expressing agreement with the minister, allowed him to table the Bill. The Bill provides that it would be effective with retrospective effect and any MLA disqualified by any court or any other authority on the ground that he/she held an Office of Profit from among those mentioned in the Bill would not have any bearing on his/her membership of the House.