NEW DELHI : The Union Law Minister's announcement in Parliament on Thursday that a joint parliamentary committee would be set up to examine the "underlying constitutional principles" defining an office-of-profit and suggest comprehensive criteria that can be justly applied to the Centre and all States, was greeted by the Bharatiya Janata Party as "vindication of our stand."

The party's deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, V.K. Malhotra, said the party wanted such a committeebut had also suggested that all MPs holding "suspected offices-of-profit" should resign from them and a one-time waiver to protect them from disqualification be given by Parliament.

"MPs must resign"

Even at this stage when Parliament has passed for a second time the amendment to the Prevention of Disqualification Act — it has yet to receive the President's assent — the BJP felt that the MPs concerned should resign from their so-called offices-of-profit; allow the situation to become clear whether they are offices of profit (under the pre-amended legislation), and then take their positions once again if those do not constitute offices-of-profit.

Mr. Malhotra made it clear that the BJP would participate in the joint parliamentary committee and nominate its members as soon as the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Rajya Sabha Chairman request it to do so.

Cola issue

Separately, Mr. Malhotra charged the Left with double standards and duplicity on the issue of banning the cola giants, Coca-Cola and Pepsi, pointing out that while the Communist Party of India-Marxist led Government in Kerala had said it would banish these companies from the State, the West Bengal Government had suggested that it was prepared to live with their presence.

Price hike

He also warned that the Manmohan Singh Government could raise the prices of kerosene and cooking gas as well as other petroleum products soon after the monsoon session ends, as he had indicated this in his Independence Day address."We object to this," he said, adding that it would result in spiralling of prices further.

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