Ahead of a Jharkhand special court verdict in a fodder scam case involving RJD chief lalu Prasad next week, the Union Cabinet on Tuesday cleared an Ordinance that would protect convicted MPs and MlAs from facing immediate disqualification.
Meanwhile, late in the evening Sushma Swaraj tweeted that the BJP is opposed to the Ordinance. She said BJP would request the President not to sign the Ordinance which is unconstitutional.
“Why has the Government brought this OrdinanceIJ Why is it in a hurry to bring this through an Executive OrderIJ There is some other motive behind bringing this Ordinance,” BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said.
The Ordinance negates a recent SC order that said the elected public representatives would stand disqualified immediately if convicted by a court for crimes with punishment of two years or more.
The Government decided to bring the Ordinance after failing to get a Bill to this effect passed during the Monsoon Session. The decision to take the Ordinance route also came against the backdrop of a Congress MP Rashid Masood facing the prospect of disqualification as he was recently convicted in a case of corruption and other offences.
To annul the July 10 Supreme Court order, the Government moved to amend the law and brought the Representation of the People (Second Amendment) Bill, 2013 in the Rajya Sabha during the last session. However, the Bill could not be passed.
Once the quantum of punishment is pronounced by a CBI court next month, Masood faces the prospects of losing his membership of the Rajya Sabha as per the apex court order.
According to the Ordinance, if a lawmaker appealed against his conviction and the sentence was stayed by a higher court, he can attend Parliament / Assemblies but cannot draw salaries or vote.
The Ordinance would come handy for lalu Prasad, whose fate will be decided by a CBI special court in Ranchi on September 30. lalu is one of the prime accused in a conspiracy case involving withdrawal of huge fund from Chaibasa treasury in second half of 1990. So far, the court has convicted majority of the accused persons in similar conspiracy angle cases.
The Ordinance, however, will not save lalu from being immediately sent to jail in case he was handed a sentence of two years or more. Meanwhile, the Congress rejected criticism on the issue of the Ordinance saying such a measure is “not a backdoor method” as it has to go to Parliament.