Saturday, September 2 2006 12:01 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: The Election Commission is likely to close about 40 cases of disqualification petitions against MPs including Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee under a new amendment that provided exemption for more posts.

The issue was discussed at a meeting of the full Commission here yesterday (Sept 1, 2006).

It was not clear whether the petition filed recently against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram on charges of holding offices of profit as they were trustees of Rajiv Gandhi Foundation also came up for scrutiny during the meeting.

Chatterjee, who is also Chairperson of the Santiniketan-Sriniketan Development Board, and SP MP Amar Singh, who is Chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Industrial Development Council, are among the 40 MPs against whom disqualification petitions are pending on the ground they hold offices of profit.

Recently, President A P J Abdul Kalam gave his assent to the controversial Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Amendment Bill, 2006, a day after Parliament approved the setting up of a Joint Committee to define what constitutes such an office. The Presidential assent to the law with retrospective effect is expected to provide relief to these MP's.

Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswamy had said earlier that EC would abide by the legislation in deciding on the petitions.

The latest addition to the list against whom petitions are pending are the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister.

The petitions against them alleged the two were holding offices of profit as trustees of Rajiv Gandhi Foundation.

However, under the latest amendment, the office of Chairperson or trustee (by whatever name called) of any Trust, whether public or private, will not attract the disqualification clause.

The Commission has served a notice to Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss following a petition seeking his disqualification on the ground that he was holding the post of the President of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

This post is not exempt from disqualification provisions.

The Commission is likely to send its opinion to the President in a couple of days.