The Hindu Business Line : Sonia resigns from Lok Sabha, NAC

The Congress President, Ms Sonia Gandhi, on Thursday resigned from her position as a Lok Sabha MP from Rae Bareilly and as Chairperson of the National Advisory Council (NAC), thereby opening a political Pandora's Box on the issue of legislators holding office of profit. The Lok Sabha Speaker, Mr Somnath Chatterjee, has accepted her resignation as an MP.

Ms Gandhi's resignation from both the positions follows intense Opposition demand for her disqualification as an MP in view of her holding the post of NAC Chairperson, which the Opposition alleged was an office of profit.

The controversy on the office of profit issue was kicked off with the disqualification by the President, Mr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, of Ms Jaya Bachchan, Rajya Sabha MP of the Samajwadi Party. Her disqualification followed a complaint by a Congress party member to the President that as the Chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Film Development Council, she was holding an office of profit while being an MP. This prompted Opposition parties to file similar complaints with the President against Ms Gandhi.

The Election Commission, on whose recommendation the President disqualified Ms Bachchan, on Thursday said that it had not yet received any notice from the President about Ms Gandhi, but added that the law would be the same for everybody.

There was intense speculation throughout Wednesday that anticipating her disqualification, the Government would bring forward an ordinance on the office of profit issue. This followed abrupt adjournment of Parliament sine die on Wednesday, although it had been decided earlier that the Houses would go into recess from March 23 because of the Assembly elections in some States and reconvene on May 10 to complete the Budget session. Since a recess meant that the Parliament session was technically "alive," the Government would not have been able to bring forward an ordinance, the Opposition alleged.

The sharp adverse reaction to the Government move possibly prompted it to drop consideration of the draft ordinance at its regular Cabinet meeting on Thursday and the party instead decided that Ms Gandhi announce her resignations.

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