Govt seeks opinion on office of profit Bill

Pranab writes to House floor leaders

The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government seems to have taken the first step towards bringing in a Bill to redefine offices of profit with Leader of the House (Lok Sabha) Pranab Mukherjee writing to floor leaders of all political parties a month before reconvening of Parliament.

Mukherjee's letter underlines the fact that the government wants to expedite the passing of the Bill. The letter asks floor managers whether they are ready to pass the Bill without it being referred to the standing committee, since the matter will then take more time.

The letter also seeks suggestions on the Bill and its provisions. Significantly, the letter also seeks their opinion whether the Bill should be made effective from back date.

This last proviso is likely to land the government in some trouble, since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has gone on record saying they are not in favour of any legislation being implemented with retrospective effect.

In the BJP, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha LK Advani and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Jaswant Singh have both received the letter.

Since Advani and BJP chief Rajnath Singh will be away on their Bharat Suraksha Yatraa for the next month, it is not clear when the party will take up the matter.

Senior BJP office-bearers, however, feel that the party's opinion on the Bill should be expressed only after it has access to a copy of the proposed Bill. "We want to have a look at what the government is planning before putting forward our suggestions," said a BJP office-bearer.

Parliament is being reconvened on May 10 with a session stretching up to May 23 with the primary aim of coming forward with a legislation on the office of profit issue.

In fact, Parliament saw one of the shortest Budget sessions in its history as the Opposition accused the government of cutting short the session to push through an ordinance. Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, too, had to resign from her Lok Sabha seat and the chairmanship of the National Advisory Council (NAC) due to the row over the alleged ordinance.