The Hindu : National : Jaya Bachchan may lose Rajya Sabha seat

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 07, 2006

National

National

Jaya Bachchan may lose Rajya Sabha seat

Legal Correspondent

Election Commission recommends her disqualification

New Delhi: The Election Commission is understood to have recommended disqualification of Jaya Bachchan as a Member of Parliament as she was holding an office of profit as chairperson of the Uttar Pradesh Film Development Corporation. She was elected to the Upper House in July 2004 on the Samajwadi Party ticket.

Highly placed sources said the Commission's recommendation had been forwarded to President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam last week for taking follow-up action.

A complaint was preferred to the President by Madan Mohan, a Congress leader from Kanpur, alleging that Ms. Bachchan was holding an office of profit and that she should be disqualified from Parliament. It was referred to the Commission for verification and sending a report to the President.

Commission sources also said the President had forwarded a similar complaint seeking the disqualification of Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh on the ground that he was holding an ``office of profit'' while being a Member of Parliament. Sources said that the Commission was examining the complaint.

Under Article 103 of the Constitution, ``if any question arises as to whether a Member of either House of Parliament has become subject to any of the disqualifications mentioned in Article 102, the question shall be referred for the decision of the President and his decision shall be final. Before giving any decision on any such question, the President shall obtain the opinion of the Election Commission and shall act according to such opinion."

The Commission had in October last issued notice to Ms. Bachchan and heard elaborate arguments from her counsel and that of the complainant and it reserved its verdict on January 16. The Commission is reported to have sent its opinion to the President on March 3.

The Congress leader had alleged that Ms. Bachchan was simultaneously holding the Membership of Parliament and the post of the Chairperson of the UPFDC. He said the UPFDC chairmanship conferred Cabinet rank perks and that it was an ``office of profit'' attracting disqualification.

However, Ms. Bachchan submitted that her post in the UPFDC was not an office of profit and the Council was purely an advisory board. She maintained that she had not taken any salary or honorarium for her services. However, she admitted that she had been granted facilities by the UPFDC.

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