All-party meet backs government on move to overturn Supreme Court verdict

NEW DELHI: The government on Tuesday got support from political parties on its plans to amend Representation of People Act to overturn the Supreme Court ruling, which barred people in police or judicial custody from contesting polls.


At an all-party meeting, the government also receiving backing on its proposal to bring an amendment to the Constitution to negate the impact of the apex court verdict directing immediate disqualification of MPs and MLAs on being sentenced for more than two years in a criminal case.

These were among four issues that were discussed in the meeting convened by the government to firm up a view on contentious issues.

The proposed Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, which seeks to replace the collegium system, the Supreme Court order on reservation in AIIMS faculty and the Patna High Court order barring a candidate arrested even for a day from contesting were the other issues.

Parties suggested that the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill should be referred to a Parliamentary Standing Committee.

The issue of Robert Vadra's controversial land deals in Haryana was also raised by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj. The Left parties maintained that the government should not have objections if any issue was raised.

The opposition parties felt that the responsibility for the running the House was primarily that of the government.

Swaraj asked why the opposition was not being allowed to raise the Vadra issue in Parliament. "Allow us to speak on the issue," she said.

Left parties accused Congress and BJP of "match fixing" and disrupting the House proceedings to prevent real issues afflicting the people from being raised.

"We discussed the SC judgement on AIIMS. We talked about judicial commission and various court pronouncements. There is consensus among all political parties for effective steps to ensure supremacy of Parliament.

"...There is also consensus on the bills on reservation in AIIMS. All parties demanded amendment in the Representation of the People Act. All political parties want judicial commission bill should be introduced in this session," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath told reporters after the meeting.