Members of tobacco panel must declare conflict of interest: Naidu

NEW DELHI: Parliamentary affairs minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday said that any MP having conflict of interest is supposed to declare it as per rules. The statement came amid a raging debate over BJP MPs presence in tobacco trade on a panel looking into framing rules for the product.

"I have no power on parliamentary panels and hence can't give any direction. I have only stated the rule, which says that the members having conflict of interest must declare this and should recuse themselves from attending a meeting where issues concerning their interest are being discussed," Naidu told TOI.

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Earlier in the day the minister said that the committees will do their work as per rules and regulations and they will submit the report to Parliament, and Parliament will take a view. "Anybody who has got a conflict of interest, as per the rule of Parliament you are supposed to declare the conflict of interest, if any. And then the Committee and the Parliament takes care of it," he said.

Sources said that the Lok Sabha Speaker has the power to take decision on ouster of any such member and there has to be an objection to the inclusion of any such MP in a parliamentary panel.

In fact, the norms to deal with such issues are laid down in the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha and directions of the Speaker.

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"The appointment of a member to a parliamentary committee may be objected to on the ground that the member concerned has a personal pecuniary or direct interest of such an intimate character that it may prejudicially affect the consideration of any matter by the committee. Such an interest should separately belong to the member whose inclusion in the committee is objected to i.e. it should not be common with the public in general or with any class or section thereof or on a matter of state policy," the norm says.

It further says that if the Speaker, after scrutiny, comes to a conclusion that the member has indeed a personal, pecuniary or direct interest with the matter before the committee, his membership ceases forthwith.

The rules say that such members must state their "interest" to the Speaker through the chairman of the committee and to avoid any such situation, the members should state their interest immediately after the constitution of parliamentary committees.

Government sources also said that when the Parliament resumes bulletin can be issued advising the members to comply with the norms.

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