 "Politics over Ordinance to protect convicted netas from disqualification")
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which makes its electoral debut in this year’s Delhi Assembly elections, today publicly protested against the Congress led UPA’s decision to enact an Ordinance scuttling the Supreme Court order barring convicted ‘netas”/ legislators from continuing in office. AAP stated they would be challenging the constitutionality of the Ordinance in court and accused all political parties across the board of opposing measures to cleanse the political system. This follows close on the heels of Leader of the Opposition BJP’s Sushma Swaraj, tweeting late last night, the BJP’s disapproval of the Ordinance route and even urged the President Pranab Mukherjee not to sign it. Angry at Swaraj’s “sudden” outburst, UPA minister Manish Tewari retorted again via Twitter “Unsolicited advice is neither appreciated nor taken seriously.”
Politics has erupted over the controversial decision of the Ordinance that was cleared by the Cabinet yesterday. AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal today in a press conference named “beneficiaries” of this ordinance- Congress MP Rasheed Masood who stood to lose his seat as he was recently convicted and RJD chief Laloo Prasad Yadav accused in the Fodder scam.
Government decided to bring in the Ordinance after failing to get a bill to this effect passed in Parliament during the recent Monsoon Session. The Rajya Sabha has referred the bill to a Standing Committee. The Supreme court had on July 10 ruled that an MP or an MLA would stand disqualified immediately if convicted by a court for crimes with punishment of two years or more.
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Kejriwal today brushed aside BJP’s “supposed opposition” to the Ordinance saying, “As per the records, of the 116 MPs of the BJP, 44 % have criminal cases pending against them and 19 % have serious offences against them. Likewise of the Congress MPs 21 % have criminal cases pending against them and 13 % have serious cases against them. None of these
Questioning the wisdom of the Ordinance, BJP general secretary Rajiv Pratap Rudy said,
“BJP is shocked at this Ordinance. We would like to know whose great idea it is--is it Prime Minister Manmohan Singh or Rahul Gandhi or is it UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi."
Late last evening, within hours of the Ordinance, Swaraj said via Twitter “We are opposed to it. We request the President not to sign it. President is not obliged to sign an Ordinance that is unconstitutional”.
I&B minister Manish Tiwari responding to Swaraj again using Twitter said :The constitutionality or otherwise of legal enactments are tested in constitutional courts and not in the BJP's moat." Adding, “Unsolicited advice is neither appreciated nor taken seriously. These are the first principles of the legal profession. Advice of Leader of Opposition amusing, surprising”.
Left parties while opposing the decision said the UPA government was "repeatedly using the Ordinance route which is undemocratic. The CPM politburo said the matter of disqualification of elected members who are convicted "should have been discussed in Parliament and appropriate steps taken."