Suresh Kalmadi, lodged in Tihar jail in connection with alleged irregularities in Commonwealth Games, will be able to attend Parliament only if a competent court grants him permission, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar said on Friday.
Kalmadi, who is a Congress member of the Lok Sabha from Pune, has written to the speaker requesting her to allow him to attend the proceedings of Parliament. The monsoon session of Parliament is scheduled to begin from August 1.
"It is a legal matter. The competent court has to decide," Kumar told reporters, adding that she was not against any member attending Parliament. She said she has received a letter only from Kalmadi and not from Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP A Raja, who is jailed in connection with the 2G spectrum scam.
"Parliament is supreme, but when legal process is on against a honourable member, that has to be kept in mind. Now, that a legal process has been initiated, we cannot ignore it," she said.
Kalmadi was removed as Congress parliamentary party secretary and sacked as Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chief. He is in jail for the past two months after his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation in alleged irregularities in the conduct of the Commonwealth Games held last year.