BJP leaders slam Ordinance protecting convicted lawmakers, to meet President

New Delhi: A delegation of BJP leaders will meet President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday to voice its opposition to the Ordinance promulgated by the Centre providing protection to convicted lawmakers.



According to reports, the BJP leaders will urge President pranab Mukherjee not to give his consent to the \"unconstitutional\" measure.



\"We have put in our request for a meeting. We are meeting Rashtrapatiji either Thursday or Friday against Ordinance for convicted MPs,\" BJP leader Sushma Swaraj had tweeted.







Government cleared the Ordinance on Wednesday to undo a two-month-old Supreme Court verdict under which MPs and MLAs face immediate disqualification on their conviction in a criminal case with a jail term of two years.



\"Union Cabinet has approved Ordinance on convicted MPs. We are opposed to this. We request the President not to sign this Ordinance,\" Swaraj, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said.



Government has brought the Ordinance after failing to get a Bill to this effect passed in Parliament during the recent Monsoon Session.



\"We are against the contents of the Ordinance. That is the reason we said it is unconstitutional. President is not obliged to sign an Ordinance that is unconstitutional,\" she added.



The Supreme Court had on July 10 ruled that an MP or an MLA would stand disqualified immediately if convicted by a court for crimes with punishment of two years or more.



To negate the Supreme Court order, the government moved to amend the law and brought the Representation of the People (Second Amendment) Bill, 2013 in Rajya Sabha during the last session. However, the bill could not be passed.
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