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`Amendment affects federal character'

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JUNE 4. Political parties were guarded in their reaction to the Supreme Court's stay on the process of byelections and biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha on a petition filed by journalist and former Rajya Sabha member, Kuldip Nayar.

While the Congress declined comment saying that the matter was "sub judice," the BJP said that but for the Left parties, there was unanimous approval for the Bill to amend the Representation of the People Act, 1951. The amendment did away with the domicile requirement for Rajya Sabha candidates and made voting "open" rather than through a secret ballot.

"Both the decisions were taken after the Parliamentary Standing Committee had gone into it and recommended the changes. Except for the Left parties, there was consensus on the Bill,'' said V.K. Malhotra, the BJP's Parliamentary Party spokesman. Now that the matter was before the Supreme Court, the party would discuss the issue and take a stand, he added.

CPI (M) Polit Bureau member, Prakash Karat, pointed out that the Left had opposed the move even at the time the Bill was introduced in the House (last year). The concern was that it affected the federal character of the Rajya Sabha and was against the spirit of the Constitution that the representation should be from the States.

The party had also opposed the decision to do away with the secret ballot procedure in Rajya Sabha which is a norm for elections to all other elected bodies.

Expressing similar views, D. Raja of the CPI said that their party had opposed the amendment at the all-party meeting which had discussed the move. "India is a federal country and the character of the Rajya Sabha is such that the elected representatives should ordinarily be the resident of that State," he said.

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