The Mulayam Singh government shunned even the mask of serving public interest when it muscled in the UP State Legislature (Prevention of Disqualification Amendment) Bill, 2006, last week. The UP government’s intentions in passing this Bill with such urgency couldn’t have been more clear. It removed the very posts from the list of ‘offices of profit’ that had a potential of stirring up trouble for legislators from the Samajwadi Party and its allies. It’s well-known that posts in various corporations and PSUs have now become a means for ruling parties to accommodate friendly and powerful legislators and supporters. With the EC urging Jaya Bachchan’s Rajya Sabha disqualification, on the grounds that she held an office of profit as chairperson of the UP Film Development Council, and petitions filed for similar action against Amar Singh (chairman, UP State Development Council) and UP Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mohammed A. Khan (chairman, UP Jal Nigam), it’s obvious that the UP government’s prime objective in pushing through the Bill has been to bail out its high-profile leaders.
In 2001, hearing a petition on the disqualification of JMM leader Shibu Soren from the Rajya Sabha on the same grounds, the Supreme Court made it clear that the benefits of office was “capable of bringing about a conflict between the duty and interest of the appellant as MP”. Yet, the UP government has attempted to side-step the constitutional reason for this provision of disqualification, without so much as a well-informed debate. Further, with a quick change in terminology — ‘allowances’ have been renamed ‘honorarium’ — it is making sure that this happens without the actual loss of ‘profit’ to the office-holders.
Such blatant misuse of legislative powers to serve partisan interests must be resisted. A government can’t be allowed to put the interests of individuals over the well thought-out constitutional provisions. UP Governor T.V. Rajeswar would be well advised to give this Bill serious thought and understand its varied implications before giving it his approval.