Panel sets size limit for Cabinet

In A significant move, a Parliamentary Committee today unanimously agreed to limit the size of the Council of Ministers to 15 per cent of th...

In A significant move, a Parliamentary Committee today unanimously agreed to limit the size of the Council of Ministers to 15 per cent of the total number of members in the Lok Sabha and state legislatures to ensure uniformity of the law in the country.

In its report on the Constitution (97th Amendment) Bill tabled in both the Houses, the Standing Committee on Home Affairs welcomed the proposal for disallowing defectors to hold any remunerative political post from the date of his disqualification. The Bill was referred to the committee for examination after it was introduced in the Lok Sabha on May 5, earlier this year.

The 44-member committee, headed by Pranab Mukherjee of Congress, observed that the Bill in its present form was not firm enough and enabled any loser in any election eligible for the post of a minister or to a remunerative political post in Parliament or state legislature.

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Therefore, the committee felt that the objective of the Bill — to strengthen the Anti-Defection law — would be defeated if the lacunae was not removed. The committee recommended that it should be clearly stated in the Bill that the defector should be declared elected in order to be appointed as a minister or to a remunerative post.

The proposed legislation aims to do away with the provision of a ‘‘split in a political party’’ from the 10th Schedule of the Constitution to check its misuse. Endorsing Government’s attempt in this regard, the committee said that split in a party for a cause other than ideological, such as situational and motivational, will stop. It will result in check of proliferation of political parties, the members added.

Donald Trump may replace H-1B lottery with wage-based selection process

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Days after hiking the fees for new H-1B applications to $100,000, the Donald Trump administration has proposed to overhaul the visa process for high-skilled non-immigrant workers. The Trump administration has suggested a wage-based selection process for the H-1B programme, instead of the current lottery system.

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