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Complaints against Speaker, MPs rejected

Special Correspondent

Election Commission gives opinion on 12 MPs

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission has rejected complaints against 12 MPs, including Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh, that they held offices of profit, EC sources said here on Saturday.

The Commission's opinion on the 12 MPs comes nearly three weeks after President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam gave his assent to a legislation, which exempted more than 50 posts from being considered as offices of profit.

The "first batch" of opinion concerning the MPs was sent to the President by the Commission on Friday, EC sources said.

"Under consideration"

However, the Commission is yet to tender its opinion on complaints against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on the charge that as trustees of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation they were holding offices of profit. The complaint against Dr. Singh and Mr. Chidambaram is "under consideration."

Apart from Mr. Chatterjee, who is also Chairman of the Sriniketan-Santiniketan Development Board, the EC has tendered its opinion on SP leader Amar Singh, who is Chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Industrial Development Council and Union Ministers Pranab Mukherjee, Sharad Pawar and Meira Kumar.

It has also sent its opinion relating to Hannan Mollah, Amitava Nandi, Sudhanshu Sil, Bansagopal Chowdhury, Lakshman Seth, Tarit Baran Topdar (all Communist Party of India - Marxist Lok Sabha members) and Anuradha Chowdhury of the Rashtriya Lok Dal.

Notice to Ramadoss

The Commission has sought information from the Uttar Pradesh Government in respect of Chanderpal Singh Yadav and issued notice to Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss for his reply.

In the case of Mohammad Salim (CPI-M), the EC has sought more information from the West Bengal Government.

Controversial Bill

The President had recently given his assent to the controversial Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Amendment Bill 2006, a day after Parliament approved the setting up of a Joint Parliamentary Committee to define what constitutes such an office.

The Committee is headed by Iqbal Ahmed Saradgi, a Congress Lok Sabha member from Gulbarga.

Relief to MPs

The Presidential assent to the law with retrospective effect is expected to provide relief to these MPs.

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