The government plans to repeal a 65-year-old law which lays th🅺e ground for disqualification of MPs for holding office of profit and bring a new one which is in sync with present requirements.
The legislative department of the Union law ministry has floated the draft 'Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Bill, 2024' prepared on the lines of recomm🌱endations made by the Joint Committee𓃲 on Offices of Profit (JCOP) then headed by Kalraj Mishra in the 16th Lok Sabha.
The proposed bill seeks to rationalise 🐬section 3 of the existing Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act, 1959 and to remove the negative list of offices provided in the schedule containing offices, the holders of which would incur disqual✨ification.
It also proposes to remove the conflict between the existing Act and certain other statutes which have an exp🥂ress provision for🌟 not to incur disqualification.
The draft bill also proposes to omit section 4 of the existing law relating to "temporary suspension" of disqual🉐ification in cer🎃tain cases, and in its place empower the central government to amend the schedule by issuing a notification.
Seeking views of the public on the draft bill, the department recalled that The Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act, 1959 was enacted 🌠to declare that certain offices of profit under the government will not disqualify the holders for being chosen as, or for being, a member of Parliament.
However, the Act contains both the aspects of enumerating the offices, the hoꦏlder of which would not incur disqualification and those offices the holders of which would incur disqualification.
Parliam♋ent has, from time to time, amended 🀅the Act.
During the 16th Lok Sabha, the JCOP undertook a comprehensive re🌊view of the law and submitted a report.
The committee stressed on the need for the law mini๊stry to take into account obsolete entries in the prese🌊nt law.
One of its key recommendations was to have a "comprehensive definition" of the term 'offices of profꦕit'.
It also proposed simplification𓃲 of language and formatting.
The members nominated in various ﷽flagship schemes and programmes, such as Swachh Bharat Mission, Smart City Mission, Deen Dayal Upadhyay-Grameen Kaushalya Yojana, and other program൩mes should be "saved from incurring disqualification", it had recommended.
