Friday, July 28 2006 11:48 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: The Government yesterday (July 27, 2006) made a strong defence of the controversial Office-of-Profit Bill in the Rajya Sabha saying a practical view should be taken about certain posts which are proposed to be exempted from its purview.

Defending the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Amendment Bill, 2006, returned by President A P J Abdul Kalam for reconsideration, Law Minister H R Bhardwaj said the Office of Profit has nowhere been defined yet.

"Only its scope has been defined from time to time by the judiciary," he said.

Opposing re-introduction of the Bill, BJP leader Arjun Jaitley said the government was subverting the Constitution by retrospectively amending the legislation and, thereby, saving the violators from its consequences.

"The arrogance of power compels you to overrule a sage constitutional advice given by the President," he said.

The Bill, which seeks to exempt 56 posts from the Office-of-Profit ambit including the post of chairperson of the National Advisory Council, was passed by Parliament on May 17 and was later returned by Kalam by May-end.

The Bill has come for a relook in the Rajya Sabha as it was the Upper House which had finally approved the legislation before it was sent to the President for his assent.

Earlier, the Bill faced stormy weather with its introduction sought to be stalled repeatedly by a vociferous opposition leading to three adjournments of the House in quick succession.

Each time the government sought to introduce the Bill, the opposition raised vociferous protests claiming the issue of National security like the discussion on Mumbai blasts should take precedence.

Even senior members like Arun Shourie and Dinesh Trivedi questioned the wisdom of taking up the Profit Bill instead of members reflecting on consipiracy and events leading to Mumbai blasts.

Deputy Chairman K Rehman Khan said the Chairman had ruled that the House should take up the discussion on the Office of Profit Bill and he had to go by the ruling. Jaitley accused the Government of overruling the highest constitutional authority and trying to rush through the Bill before July 31 which, he said, was the last day of the Election Commission's deadline to reply to its queries on the matter.

"Terming government's move as constitutionally, morally, politically and ethically wrong," he said if the Government goes ahead with the Bill, it will be an all-time low point for Indian democracy and Government.

Slamming the Left for backing the legislation, Jaitley said they were extending support to the Bill to save their own MPs.

Slamming the Opposition for going public on the issue when Parliament was seized of the matter, Congress member Abhishek Singhvi questioned the rationale behind the demand that the President should seek Supreme Court's opinion on the matter.

He said it was a 'deliberate mischief' on part of the BJP-led opposition and added as per the Constitution, the President could only act on advice of the Council of Ministers.

Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh, who heads the UP Development Council, an Office of Profit, described the move to pass the legislation with retrospective effect as illegal.

"Accusing the BJP of adopting standards on the issue", he said though he would be one of the beneficiaries, he wanted to know who was the real target myself or Jaya Bachchan.

CPI-M member Sitaram Yechury said there was need to define what the Office-of-Profit is and suggested a Parliamentary panel to go into the matter.