Reacting to the claims made by party colleague Birender Singh that Rajya Sabha seats could be bought for a monetary value, Congress leader Akhilesh Pratap Singh on Monday said such a practice was worrying for democracy, and added that buying one's way into the Parliament was not welcome.
"He (Birender Singh) said that a lawmaker told him this. If any lawmaker has admitted to such a thing, then definitely it is worrisome for democracy. Such people who want to enter politics or become lawmakers on the power of money don't deserve a place in the Parliament," said Singh.
Birender Singh has kicked up a storm by alleging and later retracting that Rajya Sabha seats are on sale. He had alleged that members are buying seats for as much as Rs 100 crore.
He had also alleged that such Rajya Sabha members would not perform for the benefit of the poor.
"A Rajya Sabha MP told me that he had a budget of Rs 100 crore to get into the Rajya Sabha. If people like this come into the Rajya Sabha, I am sure they won't do much for the poor," he had said, while addressing a gathering in Jind, Haryana.
Birender Singh later retracted from his statement saying what he meant was that more people with monetary power were now emerging on the political sphere of the country.
"Whatever is appearing on TV is entirely a wrong version of what I said. I said that after the results of the Lok Sabha elections 2009, there were crorepati MPs. I said that money power is becoming more important," he later claimed.
