The Hindu : New Delhi News : `Office of profit' issue lands Govt. in another row

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Saturday, Jun 17, 2006

New Delhi

New Delhi

`Office of profit' issue lands Govt. in another row

Staff Reporter

Sheila Govt. allegedly got `tailor-made' opinion from the Law Department to settle political scores with dissident MLAs

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Government seems to have been caught on the wrong foot in the "office of profit" controversy. Conflicting opinions given by the State Law Department on the issue are turning into an embarrassment for the Government with allegations being levelled that it had twisted the opinion to settle political scores with dissident MLAs.

According to sources, the issue came up at the meeting convened by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit at her residence on Wednesday. Some lawyers and MLAs contended that they had held consultations and gone through the office order of appointment of District Development Committees and found that it was not an office of profit. Eminent lawyer R.K. Anand also held that DDCs did not constitute office of profit as no emoluments were given to MLAs.

Secretary (Law) Veena Birbal, who was also present at the meeting, did not elaborate much on the issue but it was felt that the Law Department had erred in making an assessment of the situation. Also, it was felt that the legislation framed by the Law Department -- approved by the Union Government and then introduced and passed in the Delhi Assembly -- was also conflicting and not clear on various accounts, raising more questions than answering them. Some MLAs accused the Law Department of twisting facts and not making a proper assessment of the situation leading to the present crisis. However, a senior official of the Law Department said the Department had given opinion on the lines sought by the Delhi Government. "We have nothing to hide. We were asked to submit a certain opinion and frame legislation in such a manner. Now if it is being contradicted then it is the senior bureaucrats who should be taken to task for this," a senior official remarked.

Similarly, it was alleged that on the issue of appointment of MLAs as chairmen of governing bodies, the Government had "got a tailor-made opinion" from the Law Department with the aim of keeping out dissident MLAs from being appointed as chairmen of various governing bodies of Delhi University's 28-odd colleges where the Delhi Government has a say. It has now been revealed that the complaint filed by the Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, Jagdish Mukhi, against eight such MLAs does not hold water as legal experts have made it clear that an MLA being the chairman of a governing body does not attract the "office of profit" definition.

"The chairmen of these bodies are elected by a committee consisting of members from various background in a democratic manner. They are not appointed through any office order but contest to become chairmen. Elected members or individuals do not attract the office of profit definition. It is an intra-party conflict and such an opinion had been taken to sidetrack certain dissident MLAs from being at the helm of affairs in such colleges," observed a senior lawyer.

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