Jaitley takes on UPA, questions timing of ordinance on convicted lawmakers

Taking a jibe at the Congress-led UPA over the ordinance on convicted politicians, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arun Jaitley on Tuesday said any sensible government would have thought that this is not the time for such a law.

"How many people are there in the country who are affected by it? Two or three or five for maximum. So that a convicted man can be a lawmaker, you amend either the Constitution or the law. So, any sensible government would have thought that this is not the time for such a law," he told media here.

Jaitley had earlier said those responsible in the government for the ordinance on convicted lawmakers should resign in the wake of Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi's denunciation of the move.

Gandhi had earlier described the ordinance as a document that needs to be torn up and thrown away.

The Union Cabinet is likely to have a relook at the controversial ordinance on convicted politicians before President Pranab Mukherjee leaves for Brazil on an official visit on October 2.

According to media reports, Rashtrapati Bhawan has clearly indicated its discomfort with the ordinance in its present form. Congress vice-president Rahul

Opposition parties such as the BJP, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have made direct representations to the president not to sign the ordinance, as it is bad in principle and violates the Constitution.

President Mukherjee has already met Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath and Law and Justice Minister Kapil Sibal to seek clarifications about the ordinance. He has also consulted legal experts on the constitutional tenability of the ordinance.