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India On Media |
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| Politics
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| Government's own minister criticise |
| Government's own minister criticises ordinance to protect convicted netas
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| INDIA
, 26-September-2013
8:40:4 AM |
| Union Minister Milind Deora today went public with his criticism of an ordinance hurriedly approved by the government and forwarded to President Pranab Mukherjee this week, to protect convicted MPs and MLAs from disqualification.
"Legalities aside allowing convicted MPs/MLAs to retain seats in the midst of an appeal can endanger already eroding public faith in democracy," Mr Deora tweeted today, in a major embarrassment to the government on a day the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) delegation took its objections to what they called an "unconstitutional ordinance" to the president.
The ordinance was sent yesterday to the president for ratification.
Mr Deora - known to be close to Rahul Gandhi - is the second Congress leader to question the ordinance after senior party leader Digvijaya Singh, who had said yesterday, "...it would have been better if a consensus was arrived at. Maybe the government had its compulsion."
The Congress tried to downplay the tweet. "We don't see this as indiscipline. What they have said is morally right but the government also has the responsibility to protect Constitutional rights," said party spokesperson Raj Babbar.
But the comments suggest unease within the government over the ordinance that overturns a Supreme Court order disqualifying lawmakers immediately after conviction.
It allows MPs or MLAs convicted in a corruption case or sentenced to two years in jail to stay on without a salary or voting rights if they appeal to a higher court. Also, they can't contest elections unless specifically permitted by a higher court.
The opposition has questioned the timing of the ordinance, days before a possible verdict by a Jharkhand court on the multi-crore fodder scam allegedly involving Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Yadav, a loyal ally of the minority Manmohan Singh government.
If convicted, Mr Yadav faces disqualification from the Lok Sabha. Congress MP Rasheed Masood, convicted last week in a corruption case,
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