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Journalism of Courage
For Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and seven other CPIM MPs, presidential assent to the Office of Profit Bill could not have come at a better time.
Only hours ago, the Election Commission had sought comments from Trinamool Congres leader Mukul Roy on documents received by it from the West Bengal government in connection with Roy8217;s complaint against Chatterjee and the others. But the move, which could have been a beginning by the EC to get to the errant parliamentarians, proved to be non-starter by evening with the news of President APJ Abdul Kalam8217;s assent to the Parliament Prevention of Disqualification Amendment Bill trickling in.
The assent meant that the petition against Chatterjee and the others had become infructuous as their offices were now protected under the new legislation. But that notwithstanding, the EC will have to give its opinion, whatever that may be, to the President in each of the cases referred to it by him.
EC sources maintained that they would look at the law to find which offices were exempt from action and so that action could be continued in those cases where the offices were not exempted.
But the Presidential clearance notwithstanding, the main Opposistion BJP seemed to be in no mood to let the UPA allies have a smooth sailing on the issue. Party general secretary Arun Jaitley8217;s comments were clearly conveying the thinking within BJP that the issue could still be exploited to the embarrassment of the comrades and the Congress.
8220;Presidential assent makes it a law. But that does not make it a constitutionally valid law,8221; Jaitley told The Indian Express leaving open the possibility of a legal challenge to the new legislation.
