Can LoP be removed under new law? Opposition worries
In yet another move to apparently curtail the power of the Leader of Opposition (LoP), a Parliamentary committee on Wednesday sought to know whether the LoP, which is a statutory post, came within the ambit of a proposed law for the removal of the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers from their posts if they fail to get bail within a month of arrest in serious criminal matters.
Sources said the issues that cropped up in the Joint Committee meeting led by BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi, examining The Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, The Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, and The Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, which heard the views of Law Commission Chairman Dinesh Maheshwari and others on the subject.
While a member from the Opposition side made a strong pitch for inviting leaders of political parties, who are not part of the joint committee, to express their views, several members sought to know whether the Leader of the Opposition could be removed from the post if he fails to secure bail within a month if arrested on serious criminal charges. A section of the committee members did not agree with the view expressed by the Opposition member.
In recent times, Rahul Gandhi, who is the LoP in Lok Sabha, has rued the fact that the BJP-led NDA regime has always attempted to either corner or sideline the importance of the Opposition in the democratic setup. On several occasions, Rahul has given his dissent note where he was a party or a member of the committees formed by the Government, like the selection of the election commissioners, information commissioners, etc.
NCP leader Supriya Sule, AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi, Akali Dal leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal, and YSRCP member S Niranjan Reddy are the only Opposition members in the 31-member committee. Congress, Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, DMK, Shiv Sena-UBT, and AAP have, however, declined to be part of the committee, contending that the bills violate the fundamental principle of law that a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Sharing details, Sarangi said that the experts who appeared before the Committee have been asked to make written submissions to the panel. Vice Chancellor of National Law University, G S Bajpai, and the Vice Chancellor of Hyderabad-based National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR), Sri Krishna Deva Rao, also appeared before the Joint Committee.
