Monday, March 27 2006 16:05 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Chennai: BJP today (Mar 27, 2006) said there was a need to define what constitutes an office of profit and that it was not against a law being enacted by Parliament for this purpose.

"The BJP is opposed to promulgation of an ordinance to leave some 'offices of profit' from attracting disqualification of membership from Parliament. However, there is a need for defining an office of profit. We are not against a law being enacted by Parliament for this purpose," senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu told sources here.

Charging the UPA government with 'incompetence', Naidu said this had led to the resignation of Congress President Sonia Gandhi from the Lok Sabha. "It is not a sacrifice as claimed by the Congress. It was a compelling necessity, otherwise Sonia Gandhi would have been disqualified," he said.

He said the post of National Advisory Council was created by the UPA government and Sonia Gandhi, as its chairperson, was given Cabinet minister status and as such she "definitely held an office of profit."

In its recommendation to disqualify Jaya Bachchan from the Rajya Sabha, the Election Commission had clearly stated any post, even in an advisory capacity, was an office of profit and Sonia Gandhi would have been disqualified if she had not quit her Lok Sabha membership, he said.

The BJP's Central Election Committee would meet at New Delhi on April 4 to finalise its list of candidates for the Tamil Nadu Assembly polls. Over 47 organisations and small parties had extended support to the BJP in Tamil Nadu and a four-member committee had been constituted to launch talks with these groups, he said.