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President Abdul Kalam returned the controversial Office of Profit
Bill that sought to exempt some 50 odd positions occupied by allies
and Congressmen from disqualification and asked for clarifications
from the Government before he could sign it. The United Progressive
Alliance (UPA) Government passed this bill in a hurry without
defining a process for consideration or disqualification
Kalam asked the Government to:
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Ensure that there is uniform applicability of the law in all States
and Union Territories
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Fill the loopholes in the proposed law to positions are not included
or excluded in an ad hoc manner
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To reconsider the applicability of Article 112 and other provisions
of the Constitution
The Government passed this law to appease allies who faced certain
disqualification because they held an office of profit. The Supreme
Court made it clear when it upheld Jaya Bachan’s disqualification by
the Election Commission that profiting, profit motive, or benefits
from a post has nothing to do with the law. Instead, the question is
whether the post itself is to promote profit.
The call to reconsider the bill was not entirely unexpected. If not
the President, it might have been challenged in court. The
inconsistencies are glaring where the Wakf Board position is included
in one state and not in another-- which was incidentally highlighted
by
Bharatiya Janata Party
leader Arun Jaitley. Another was that this
bill sought to mindlessly grandfather these positions stating that
these positions are exempted from 1959 when some positions such as
the National Council was created only in 2004.
Many have argued that the bill was discriminatory as it favored
individuals close to the Government and not classes of office that
could be exempted. Even, Congressmen were unhappy with the draft and
the mode of execution by the Law Ministry.
The law considers only Government positions and does not encompass
private positions. Conflict of Interest from active participation in
private sector ventures are not considered an office of profit.
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