The government should respect the Supreme Court ruling disqualifying convicted law-makers and should not bring any amendment to negate it, a Congress leader said Sunday.
“Government should respect the SC ruling disqualifying convicted MPs and MLAs (members of legislative assembly). They should not bring any amendment to negate this,” tweeted Congress leader Anil Shastri.
“If a govt official is suspended or a minister has to go when convicted, why can’t MPs or MLAs be disqualified on conviction by a court?” he asked.
Shastri, son of late prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, is a special invitee to the Congress Working Committee, the party’s highest decision-making body, and is chairman of the party’s Hindi department.
Reports indicated the government may bring amendments to the Representation of the People Act to nullify the apex court order which disqualifies elected lawmakers if they are convicted by a court and bars them from contesting polls if they were under arrest.
After an all-party meeting Aug 1, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath said parties were concerned over the erosion of the supremacy of parliament due to the SC order and wanted the government to do something about it.
(Source: IANS)
