Parties concerned over erosion of supremacy of Parliament

NEW DELHI: Parties across the political spectrum have called for passage of the bill that will give the executive more say in appointments to the Supreme Court and high courts, besides slamming SC’s rulings on disqualification of convicted legislators and barring those in jail from contesting elections.

At the al l-party meet on Thursday, politicians raised concerns over the perceived threat to the supremacy of Parliament even as they differed on other issues. They called for the passage of the Judicial Commission Bill and opposed the scrapping of section 8(4) of the Representation of people’s Act by SC.

“A lot of people expressed concern on the SC’s judgement; there is complete consensus. We will look into it,” parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath said. BJP leader RS Prasad, said: “We are deeply concerned about the verdict, it will lead to atrocious consequences…Any government can derail its political opponents one day before poll nomination.”

BJP leaders Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj said the party would not stall Parliament. However, Swaraj, the leader of opposition, said, “The government is being too ambitious by wanting to pass 64 bills in only 12 working days. We want the government to exert itself to clear at least the Telangana Bill, the food Security Bill and the Land Acquisition Bill in this session.” She said BJP would also seek discussions on the Uttarakhand flash floods, the Ishrat Jahan case and the sharp fall in the rupee.

The monsoon session, scheduled from August 5-30, will have frequent breaks on account of holidays such as Eid, Independence Day and the festival of Rakhi. Jaitley said, “We will not disrupt Parliament but it is dependent on whether the government has a constructive attitude.”

The Trinamool Congress, a former member of the ruling coalition at the Centre, accused the government of creating problems for West Bengal by granting statehood to Telangana. The party alleged that the move would lend muscle to the demand for a separate Gorkhaland and said home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde should not have met leaders of the Gorkhaland agitation. “I will meet whoever I want,” Shinde, who was present at the all-party meet, is reported to have told the Trinamool Congress. The West Bengalbased party said it was opposed to the Land Acquisition Bill while it would support Food Security Bill.