Gopalaswamy could puncture office of profit

How will the new chief election commissioner, V Gopalaswamy, respond to the 35-odd petitions sent by the President of India A P J Abdul Kalaam against MPs holding office of profit. The issue was seemingly resolved when the parliament had cleared the amendment to the bill and sent it to the President, who chose to return it. His unprecedented decision put the issue back in CEC’s court. Gopalaswamy, who is believed to be quite tough on this issue, may be forced to take action against some MPs and MLAs who have already sent in their replies to EC’s notices. He may do that before the parliament reconvenes for the monsoon session and re-sends the office of profit bill back to the president for his assent. The fear in political circles is that the EC may act on the petitions before the parliament re-convenes. The MPs who may be hurt if CEC decides to act for violating the office of profit include Lok Sabha speaker, Somnath Chatterji. The CPI (M) would be the worst hit. Political observers believe that the action on office of profit could re-configure the coalition -- lowering Congress’s dependence on the left parties. Gopalaswamy’s actions would also be contingent on whether he has support amongst three member election commission. The government would appoint a friendly commissioner to ensure that there is no threat to the government.