New Delhi, August 3
President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who has been sent the Office of Profit Bill afresh after reconsideration by the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha without effecting any changes, is studying the legislation.
Dr Kalam has not taken any decision so far about the Congress-led UPA government’s efforts to bail out MPs faced with disqualification, according to official sources.
In the first instance, the Bill was sent for Presidential assent on May 25 and Dr Kalam returned it to Parliament a week later for reconsideration.
The President urged Parliament to draft a comprehensive criterion to be applied across the states and UTs leading to consternation among Members of Parliament holding offices of profit. After seeking the opinion of legal and constitutional experts, Dr Kalam had suggested that there should be “no ad hoc approach in judging an office of profit.”
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had called on Dr Kalam to remove any doubts and misgivings in the President’s mind about the provisions of the
Bill. Dr Singh had also apprised the President that enacting an omnibus law for dealing with the issue would not be easy.
Later, the Congress-led UPA government decided to bring the Parliament (Prevention of
Disqualification) Amendment Bill, 2006, in its original form without effecting any changes.
According to the Constitution, if the Bill in question is sent back to the Rashtrapati Bhavan with or without any amendment, he will have to give his assent.
Article 111 of the Constitution states: “When a Bill has been passed by the Houses of Parliament, it shall be presented to the President, and the President shall declare either that he assents to the Bill, or that he
withholds assent therefrom:
Provided that the President may, as soon as possible after the presentation to him of a Bill for assent, return the Bill if it is not a Money Bill to the Houses with a message requesting that they will reconsider the Bill or any specified provisions thereof and, in particular, will consider the desirability of introducing any such amendments as he may recommend in his message, and when a Bill is so returned, the Houses shall reconsider the Bill accordingly, and if the Bill is passed again by the Houses with or without amendments and presented to the President for assent, the President shall not withhold assent
therefrom.
