The Union cabinet has cleared a highly controversial ordinance which aims to protect convicted parliamentarians and state legislators from disqualification. It is a most outrageous action taken by the UPA government to annul a Supreme Court order. The apex court gave a ruling on July 10 which corrected a legislative flaw that shielded MPs and MLAs from being disqualified till such time that appeals by them to courts remained pending. Public opinion is strongly behind disqualifying legislators with history sheets. The order has been issued at a time when RJD leader Laloo Prasad Yadav faces a likely conviction for the infamous fodder scam. Another beneficiary would be Congress Rajya Sabha MP Rasheed Masood who was found guilty by a CBI court on the charge of fraudulently nominating undeserving candidates to MBBS seats in his capacity as health minister. The BJP has refused to support the legislation in parliament. The Prime Minister-in-waiting, Narendra Modi is anxious to clean up the government machinery and fight the UPA. But he has been surprisingly mum on this issue so far.
The UPA government is beleaguered by scams, charges of inept economic functioning and policy paralysis in a number of areas. Its clearing the ordinance has further besmirched its image which cannot have made it acceptable to the critical public. One would expect Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, known for their commitment to clean governance, to ensure that the Ordinance does not get the President’s nod. They should forestall any offensive from Modi and other Opposition leaders. Otherwise, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi will lose the public confidence in their flaunted passion for probity.