New Delhi: The Office of Profit Bill still remains tangled with the Cabinet trying to pass it in its original form and the Opposition going all-out to thwart the attempt.
The Opposition NDA on Saturday requested President A P J Abdul Kalam to seek the advice of the Supreme Court on the Constitutional validity of the Bill.
"We, the members of the National Democratic Alliance, urge you to seriously consider referring the factum of the constitutional validity of this Bill to the Supreme Court for its advisory opinion under Article 143 of the Constitution," the NDA said in its memorandum to the President.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister PR Dasmunshi was quick to shoot back at the BJP, saying "the memorandum to the President advising him on the OoP Bill was in total disregard to the Parliament and the constitutional framework."
"This undermines the authority of Parliament and Cabinet system of government," he reasoned. "This could have been settled by a debate in Parliament and it's unfortunate that NDA is searching for all fora except Parliament to resolve it," he added.
He reiterated that the Union Government will stand by the original Bill, which has been passed by Parliament, "which is supreme."
On its part, the BJP says the Centre should be worried about the possibility of a President-legislature conflict as the President has already expressed his concern on the issue.
The NDA has now decided to oppose the Bill if it is reintroduced in Parliament without changes. The party alleges that the proposed legislation was violative of the Constitution because it seeks to provide immunity to a large number of offices held by lawmakers.
"Inevitably, the consequences of this would be that there would be no uniformity in the whole country," the NDA said in its memorandum to the President.
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