Eleven members of Parliament from different parties were caught on camera accepting cash for raising questions in the House. |
This has led to their suspension from the parties they belong to. They have also been asked by Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee not to attend this session of the House until the matter is resolved. |
Among the MPs caught on camera in "Operation Duryodhan", conducted by cobrapost.com and the Aaj Tak channel, six are from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), three from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), and one each from the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). The video tapes show them accepting cash, the amounts ranging from Rs 15,000 to Rs 110,000. |
The six BJP MPs were identified by the television news channel as Anna Saheb MK Patil, Suresh Chandel, YG Mahajan, Chhatrapal Singh Lodha, Pradeep Gandhi and Chandra Pratap Singh. |
The BSP MPs were Narendra Kumar Kushwaha, Lal Chandra Kol and Raja Ram Pal. The other two MPs were Ram Sevak Singh from the Congress and Manoj Kumar from the RJD. All of them except Chhatrapal Singh Lodha are in the Lok Sabha. |
The Lok Sabha Secretariat issued notices to the MPs figuring in the expose and they have to give their reply by Wednesday, according to CPI (M) leader Vasudev Acharya. The Lok Sabha also constituted a committee to look into the veracity of the claims, he said. The Rajya Sabha referred the matter to the Ethics Committee. |
Political leaders cutting across party lines expressed shock and deep concern at the revelation made in the expose. Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha LK Advani said, "It is a matter of concern for us." |
When the whole country is debating probity in public life, our own MPs have been charged with showing greed for raising questions in Parliament." |
Having suspended the six MPs from its parliamentary party, the BJP instituted an internal inquiry and said it could refer the issue to the privilege committee, if necessary. |
Congress spokesman Anand Sharma said immediately after the expose, party President Sonia Gandhi had issued directions to suspend Gwalior MP Ram Sevak Singh. "It is shocking and disgraceful. If it is proved, strict action will be taken against those found guilty," he said. |
Earlier in the day, the Speaker had two rounds of meetings with different parties and they shared his concern about the revelations while assuring full support and co-operation. |
In a statement, Rajya Sabha Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat said the dignity and prestige of Parliament had "suffered a blow" by the incidents shown on the television channel. |
"The House will have to contemplate seriously on how to maintain the integrity and credibility of Parliament and in case its dignity is harmed in any manner, how to protect it effectively." |