New Delhi, Aug 20 Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has slammed the media agencies, saying that he was “misquoted” while commenting on the controversial three disqualification bills which the Central government introduced in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
“The Media distorted my comments on these bills. What I actually meant was, unless proven guilty, how can one be disqualified from the office?” Tharoor said.
The three controversial bills provide for mandatory resignation or removal of the Prime Minister, chief ministers and ministers at the Centre and in states/UTs, if they have spent 30 consecutive days under arrest or detention, on an allegation of committing offences punishable with imprisonment extending to five years or more.
“What I actually said vs what the media reported! I specifically stated (& this was before the Opposition had taken a stand on the Bill) that I had not studied the bill but that on the face of it I could see nothing wrong with the proposition that wrongdoers should resign their ministerial positions. I added that I was neither supporting nor opposing the bill without studying it. I see the media has done their usual thing,” the Congress MP wrote on X.
While the INDIA bloc and other opposition parties staged strong protests, Tharoor broke ranks and said, “Let the Bill be discussed in detail by a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC)”, adding that scrutiny will clear doubts.
The opposition, however, maintained that the legislation was part of a larger agenda to destabilise state governments led by non-BJP parties.
Earlier in the day, the INDIA Bloc held a meeting and decided unanimously to oppose the legislation.
--IANS
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