Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir Congress on Sunday questioned the nomination of BJP leader Gulam Ali Khatana, a Gujjar Muslim, to the Rajya Sabha and said the move is a “blatant violation” of constitutional provisions.
“There is nothing personal against Khatana, but it is the question of the misuse and violation of the Constitution. He does not fulfil the requisite qualification for nomination, as per the Constitution,: senior Congress leader and former MLC Ravinder Sharma said in a statement.
Sharma said Khatana’s only qualification is that he is a BJP worker, for which BJP could have got him elected for Rajya Sabha on party ticket from anywhere in the country.
But misusing the provisions of the Constitution for vested political interests has become the routine affair of the BJP, he said.
He said Congress too gave representation in the Rajya Sabha to the tribal Gujjar community by sending former Pradesh Congress Committee president and ex-speaker Choudhary Mohd Aslam in 2005.
In support of his assertions, Sharma said the clause (3) of Article 80 of the Constitution of India lays down the criteria for the nomination of the members of the Rajya Sabha.
“The members to be nominated by the President under sub clause (a) of clause (1) shall consist of persons having special knowledge or practical experience in respect of such matters as…Literature, science, art and social service,” he said.
“The bare reading of these provisions of the Constitution makes it manifestly clear that the spirit and provisions of the Constitution have been blatantly violated in the nomination of Khatana, whose only qualification is that he is a BJP worker,” he said.
However, the Congress leader extended congratulations to Khatana on his nomination.
PTI

Press Trust of India