Cabinet not to tamper with Constitution

New Delhi: The Centre on Tuesday night decided not to amend the Constitution in defining office of profit. Instead, a law called the Prevention of Disqualification of MPs Act, 1959, will be changed to exempt more posts from being considered as offices of profit.

A Bill will be tabled before Parliament, which meets for the remaining part of the Budget session on Wednesday, to change Section Three of the Act and it would not amend the Constitution.

This was decided at a Cabinet meeting presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The Cabinet asked Law Minister H R Bhardwaj to consult political parties and draw up a list of exempted posts.

Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is Leader of the House in Lok Sabha, will hold consultations with MPs and leaders of political parties, said Parliamentary Affairs Minister P R Dasmunsi.

Asked whether the National Advisory Council (NAC) will be among the exempted posts in the bill, Dasmunsi said: "It will be difficult to specify any post."

Congress president Sonia Gandhi resigned as NAC chairperson, and from Parliament, in March after the Opposition alleged that it was on office of profit.

Mukherjee, while addressing the press in Jammu earlier, said he had asked parties to indicate their views on whether the Constitution should be amended.

"Do you want amendment for definition of the office of profit or changes to be brought to the existing Act", he said.

"Though the existing law passed in 1959 gives exemption to some offices, the office of profit had so far not been defined and I have reflected this in my dialogue with the political parties," he said.

"Some political parties want an amendment to be carried out in the existing law to add some more offices under exemption category."

Over 40 MPs and over 200 state legislators face disqualification because of the current rule on office of profit.

The Left parties, whose several MPs face disqualification petitions, have asked the government to amend the law and exempt several posts from being considered an office of profit.

(With inputs from PTI)