Citizen’s Bill to amend Art 58 introduced in LS

NEW DELHI, DEC 3: Amid heated exchanges between the Congress and treasury benches, a private member’s constitution amendment bill seeking to make only "natural born citizens" of India eligible to hold high offices of President, Vice President or Prime Minister was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Friday.Soon after Bharatiya Janata Party’s Kirit Somaiya moved the bill to amend Article 58 of the Constitution to substitute the word "citizen" with "natural citizen", All India Congress Committee member P K Bansal opposed its introduction saying any bill which sought to change the "basic character" of the Constitution could not be allowed to be introduced.

Bansal pointed out that all such bills had to be cleared by the parliamentary committee on private members bills and resolutions before being allowed to be moved and this committee had not yet been set up.

Heated exchanges broke out between Opposition and treasury benches with Bharatiya Janata Party members demanding a full discussion on the issues raised inthe bill and Congress saying the objects and reasons to bring about such a legislation reflected Bharatiya Janata Party’s "paranoia" and was beyond the legislative competence of the Parliament.

Deputy Speaker P M Sayeed, who was in the chair, had a tough time controlling the members from both sides who went on raising points of order for and against the bill’s introduction.