The Hindu : National : Kalam: my stand on office of profit Bill vindicated

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Thursday, Oct 19, 2006
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Kalam: my stand on office of profit Bill vindicated

Aizawl: President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has said the formation of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to define what constitutes an office of profit has vindicated his decision to return a Bill on the issue to Parliament before finally giving his assent to it. "The issue connected to the office of profit Bill is quite clear. The decision we took was in strict conformity with the Constitutional provision, both in letter and spirit," Mr. Kalam, who was on a two-day visit to the northeast, said in an interview with NETV here. "Now you will notice that further action by both Houses of Parliament in terms of formation of the JPC and general mood of the people and political parties has vindicated our stand," he said.

Mr. Kalam initially returned the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Amendment Bill of 2006 when it was sent to him in May after having been passed by the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. Both the Houses again passed the Bill and returned it to the President on August 1.

He signed it on August 18, a day after the JPC was set up to define what constitutes an office of profit.

Quota for OBCs

Referring to the 27 per cent quota for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in elite educational institutions, Mr. Kalam said this could be tackled by increasing seats in medical and management colleges. — PTI

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