An
assertive Supreme Court, which had consistently kept the UPA government
on tenterhooks by questioning its policies and showing zero tolerance
for corruption, is continuing with its aggression and activism against
the NDA regime.
The SCI on Friday Aug 22,2014 took on the NDA Govt for the seventh time in
the three months since it assumed office, questioning the delay and
lack of consensus in choosing a Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok
Sabha, which has put the selection of the Lokpal in limbo and will
affect appointments to several other constitutional posts in the CBI,
CVC and NHRC.
The LoP is a key member in the selection panel for all these posts
As the second largest party in the Lok
Sabha with 44 seats, Congress has been demanding the LoP post for itself
but the Speaker, taking into consideration the opinion rendered by the
Attorney General, has rejected it by saying the party does not have the
requisite 10 per cent of seats - 55 in the 543-member House
According
to the Speaker, the Congress, which has 44 members in the Lok Sabha but
claims the support of 60 UPA lawmakers, cannot officially get the LoP
post as it lacks the mandated 10 per cent of the strength of the 543-
member House.
The
ruling BJP, which is in no mood to grant the LoP status to the
Congress, has cited past precedents when there was no LoP during
Congress governments in 1980 and 1984.
The
issue has become a major bone of contention between the BJP and the
Congress, which is in no mood to give up its claim. The Congress'
argument is that not only is an LoP a democratic safeguard against the
brute majority of the NDA in the lower house, the parliamentary post is
needed to clear appointments to several anti-graft and rights bodies
like the CVC, CBI, Lokpal and NHRC.
As
a counter to the precedents cited by the BJP, the Congress has
maintained that the situation was different two decades ago when the LoP
had no role in clearing such key appointments.
"The
decision of the Speaker was in utter disregard to the law and appears
to be clearly influenced and coloured by the partisan agenda of the
BJP-led government," said Sharma.
Indicating the mood in the government, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the Congress should respect the Speaker's decision.
In this
context, a bench headed by Chief Justice R.M. Lodha stepped in and
decided to go into the issue of interpreting the provision of LoP in the
Lok Sabha for appointing members of statutory bodies in a situation
where there is no recognised LoP as in the current scenario.
The SCI also gave the government an ultimatum to decide the issue in two weeks
Slamming
the absence of the LoP, Lodha said, "The person holding the post is the
voice representing the view different from the government. Statute
presupposes the existence of a LoP. Important appointments like the
Lokpal cannot be kept in cold storage for want of such a post. Why does
not the government realize that LoP is also essential for a fair
selection to other constitutional posts also?"
The
court granted the government two weeks to make its stand clear and come
prepared at the next date of hearing on September 09,2014
Noting
that the matter is very significant, the bench rejected the plea of the
government, which sought four weeks to prepare on the issue.
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