'Sonia has called BJP's bluff'

Communist Party of India's senior leader Nilotpal Basu has commended Sonia Gandhi's resignation as member of Parliament and as chairperson of the National Advisory Council.

"I think it can be said that by tendering her resignation from both these posts, Mrs Gandhi has called the bluff of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which had been acting as the protector of the Constitution and singularly targetting her," Basu told rediff.com. "We know what the BJP did with the Constitution in Gujarat."

However, Basu made it clear that the government must come out with a comprehensive legislation to clarify misgivings about the provisions for disqualification. "These provisions were made in 1959 and need amendment. We are waiting for the government to specify new guidelines and make the suitable amendments," he said.

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When asked if Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee would also resign, Basu said Chatterjee's case "is different from Jaya Bachchan's."

"In Jayaji's case, her election petition was referred to the Election Commission by the losing candidate, pointing out that she was given an office of profit after becoming a member of the Rajya Sabha. But in the case of Somnathda, his nomination was cleared by the EC," Basu said.