Let146;s go abroad to study and discuss, OoPs

When the office-of-profit controversy hit ruling-party MPs threatening their position in Parliament last year, they all got together to slam the Election Commission and passed the Parliament Prevention of Disqualification Act despite the President raising questions. Too much was being made out of a minor issue, they said.

But when it comes to studying the subject, they are taking it pretty seriously. The Joint Parliamentary Committee set up to define Office of Profit wants to go abroad to 8220;study.8221; The Speaker8217;s OK is awaited. At its last sitting in May, JPC chairman Iqbal Ahmad Saradgi of the Congress reiterated the 15-member committee8217;s March 20 decision to visit the United Kingdom and Australia to 8220;study their laws on the subject in detail8221; and to hold 8220;wide discussion/interaction on the subject8221;.

The rationale cited for travel to UK is to examine the feasibility of adopting its law relating to disqualification of MPs even though the law on House of Commons Disqualification Act of 1975 has been made available to them.

No reason was given for travel to Australia.

The JPC includes Abhishek Manu Singhvi Congress, Arun Jaitley BJP, Sitaram Yechury CPM, V Kishore Chandra Deo Congress and Raghunath Jha RJD. The JPC, which has met seven times since it was formed in August last year, has visited eight states and wants to travel to 14 more. Its deadline is now the end of the monsoon session.