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Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley on Thursday sparred over the controversial ordinance to enable an elected member of a legislative body to stay on in his post till his appeal in court or a revision petition is disposed of.
As the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) met the President with the request that he should not sign the ordinance, Chidambaram said it (the ordinance) had been drafted only because there had been unanimity among all political parties that this was the right course of action. But now, the BJP had changed its mind.
"They have every right to change their mind. But they shouldn't expect others to change their mind as well," he said here.
The central issue is the Supreme Court judgement on Section 62 (5) and Section 8(4) of the Representation of People Act.
While the verdict on Section 62 (5) said those in jail cannot contest polls, the one on Section 8(4) said members of Parliament, members of Legislative Assemblies and members of Legislative Councils would not get three months time to challenge their conviction and sentence in a criminal case with a jail term of two years and more, and lose their membership immediately.
To prevent the court's order from having effect, Parliament not only drafted a law but also held, at an all party meeting, that some way should be found to circumvent the order. Accordingly, an ordinance was drafted, to which the BJP agreed, Chidambaram said.
He said if the BJP had now changed its mind, and wanted the law to revert to its old status, Gujarat Minister Babubhai Bokhiria should be asked by the party to resign, as he was holding office by taking recourse to the struck down provisions of the Representation of the People Act. "He has been convicted for a period of three years. How is he holding office today and remaining minister? By virtue of Section 8(4). But that section has been struck down. So should not the BJP feel the pain of conscience and ask him to step down? A BJP minister continuing to hold office after conviction even after Section 8(4) is struck down. How can that be reconciled with their present position?" he asked.
Chidambaram said the Gujarat minister should have lost his seat. "How is he holding his office, because he took advange and filed an appeal and got the stay under the old Section 8(4) which has been struck down. He holds office and the BJP says you should not amend the law. Very funny!" he said.
In response, Arun Jaitley said there were moral issues as well as procedural ones. "The moral question being asked is once a provision has been held to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, should the Indian Parliament exercise its legislative jurisdiction to enable convicted persons to continue as law makers. Even though he cannot vote, his participation in the debates certainly influences the course of law making," Jaitley said. He also said the legislation was before the Standing Committee. To bring it as an ordinance in the interim was improper.
"The only compelling reason for bypassing Parliament and taking the ordinance route is to help a class of tainted politicians who have been already convicted or are apprehensive of a court judgement in the near future. That a government can be pressurised by the logic of the tainted speaks volume of the lack of integrity of this government," Jaitley said.
