NEWSLINKS
US EDITION
COLUMNISTS
DIARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ELECTION 99
ELECTIONS
ARCHIVES

Search Rediff

Sangma to raise foreign origins issue

Constitution Review Committee member Purno A Sangma Monday made it clear that the newly-formed committee is free to discuss the issue of person of foreign origin holding high office since it was not part of the basic structure of the Constitution.

Sangma, who is spearheading a campaign against persons of foreign origin holding high office and who quit the Congress on this issue, expressed his determination to raise this issue at the committee meetings. This would only strengthen parliamentary democracy, he said.

Sangma said he had been included in the committee as an individual and not as a politician. He said that when Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee invited him to be on the committee, he accepted it as a national duty. His being a Christian tribal hailing from the north-east and a former Lok Sabha speaker were the main reasons cited for his induction into the committee.

Replying to a question, Sangma said a fixed term for Lok Sabha was not the sole criterion for stability. The experiment of coalition politics and other issues could be brought before the committee for critical appraisal, he said.

Without going into the basic structure of the Constitution and while still keeping intact parliamentary democracy, there were many grey areas to be dealt with, like accountability, electoral reforms, Centre-state relations, Article 356 and devolution of political and financial powers for discussions Sangma said.

"For instance, there is no accountability these days. In some states there are jumbo ministries; in a 60-member house, there are as many as 40 ministers. There are more ministers than members. How can there be accountability," he asked.

On application of Article 356, he said that the situation for imposition of President's Rule is yet to be codified. He added that this was one reason for the article being misused by every political party ruling at the Centre.

The expertise of Justice Sarkaria would be of immense help to the committee on the subject of fine-tuning Centre-state relations, he said.

But chairman of the Constitution Review Commission Justice M N Venkatachalaiah said the panel had bigger priorities than the issue of barring people of foreign origin from occupying high offices.

He told a TV channel that there were more important issues to deal with, like the population problem, the education of girls and elementary education.

Asked to react to Sangma's views, Venkatachalaiah said he was entitled to his views.

UNI

RELATED REPORT:
PMO rejects charges against constitution review panel

Back to top

Tell us what you think of this report