NEW DELHI: Can the President override Parliament and the Union Council of Ministers? This is the new dispute that has opened up among the Government, the Left parties supporting it and the National Democratic Alliance parties led by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The trigger for the disagreement is the Office-of-Profit Bill that was returned to Parliament for re-consideration by President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, and is to be re-considered this session.

"Unfortunately, the Opposition is trying to undermine the authority of Parliament, the Cabinet system of functioning in a parliamentary democracy," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi told reporters and the Government intends to "uphold Parliament as the supreme authority," for Parliament represents the voice of the people.

"The NDA is looking for some other chamber outside Parliament ... it is a sad day," he added.

Even as Parliament prepared to "re-consider" the Bill returned to it by the President, a delegation of leaders of the NDA marched to the Rashtrapati Bhavan to "urge" the President "to seriously consider referring the factum of the constitutional validity of this Bill to the Supreme Court for its advisory opinion." This was seen by the Government and the Left parties as nothing less than an effort to subvert the supremacy of Parliament.

"Supremacy of Parliament cannot be sought to be undermined," Sitaram Yechury of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Gurudas Dasgupta of the Communist Party of India said.

They decried the effort by the Opposition to bypass Parliament and rush to the President instead of saying what they had to on the floor of the two Houses of Parliament.

Earlier, BJP leader Sushma Swaraj herself admitted that the description of an office of profit under Article 102 of the Constitution "was ambiguous" and both in the States and at the Centre "many legislators were holding such offices." The BJP was in favour of a "one-time amnesty" through a Bill, she added. "We told the President that he need not sign the Bill even if it is sent back to him for assent by Parliament. He can refer it to the Supreme Court under Article 143."

When it was pointed that Article 143 can be used by the President only on the advice of the Council of Ministers (the Union Cabinet), she said the President could ask the Cabinet to give that advice to enable him to refer the matter to the Apex Court. Mr. Dasmunsi said that at a meeting of senior Congress leaders with the Leader of the Opposition and BJP leaders, the Opposition made some suggestions and they were told the Government would think about it. Parliament is to discuss the President's queries on the Office-of-Profit Bill, and yet the NDA marches to the President before Parliament reconsiders the Bill. He said this was nothing but "undermining of Parliament".

Mr. Dasmunsi pointed out that the office-of-profit law had been amended several times, including in 1977 when the position of Leader of the Opposition (that carries many perquisites like car and secretarial assistance) was exempted. "The same party [the BJP] has passed a similar law [as passed by Parliament during the last session] on office-of-profit in Jharkhand where it is the ruling party. What they do in the States, they oppose in Parliament," he said.

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