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| The three MPs are MP from Morena, Ashok Argal; MP from Mandla, Faggan Singh Kulaste and MP from Salumber in Rajasthan Mahavir Bhagora. |
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In a shameful incident, the Lok Sabha witnessed high drama when a BJP member shocked the House by walking into the well with a bag full of currency notes which he claimed was given by a Samajwadi Party leader in return for his support in the trust vote. Amidst a flutter, Deputy Speaker Charanjit Atwal, adjourned the House briefly, leaving members surcharged.
The three MPs are MP from Morena, Ashok Argal; MP from Mandla, Faggan Singh Kulaste and MP from Salumber in Rajasthan Mahavir Bhagora. They have alleged that they were approached by a Samajwadi Party MP to vote in favor of Govt or at least abstain from voting. To prove their allegations, they took out wads after wads of currency notes to substantiate their claim that horse-trading had taken place and heavy cash was used to "purchase" MPs for the trial of strength. Looking at the press gallery, the BJP members alleged that an SP leader promised three of them Rs 3 crores each, of which Rs 1 crore was paid in advance.
As Atwal asked SP member Mohan Singh to speak on the motion, the BJP members trooped into the well with Argal carrying the black leather travel bag full of currency notes. Argal placed the bag on the table of the Secretary General in front of the Speaker's podium and fished out 10 bundles of currency notes of 1000 rupees denomination. Shouting "shame, shame" and alleging horse trading by the Samajwadi Party, the members took turns to flash the money, prompting Atwal to adjourn the house hurriedly.
The incident caught the entire House unawares and members from both sides looked perplexed. When the House reassembled after the brief adjournment, there was no improvement in the situation as the opposition kept blocking the well. Atwal then adjourned the House for the second time on the issue till 1700 hours.
BJD MP from Orissa sings in similar tunes.
Tainting the image of ruling coalition UPA govt., BJD MP from Orissa Archana Nayak on Tuesday claimed she was offered cash and a party ticket by top Congress leaders to vote in favour of the UPA government or abstain in the trust vote in Parliament. "I was promised that the Congress will give everything, including money, if I vote in favor of the UPA government or abstain from voting," Nayak told reporters. Refusing to name the leaders who made the offer, Nayak said "top Congress leaders from the Centre and Orissa" did so last evening when she was in the Parliament premises. "I do not want to reveal the names of the leaders," she said.
Some Congress leaders from Orissa had also visited her residence on Monday, she claimed. Nayak said she was reportedly told that the Congress would give her ticket either for the next Lok Sabha or state assembly polls. She was also told that BJD would not give her a chance next time and, therefore, she should accept the offer. Asked how much money was offered to her, Nayak said "I did not allow them to quote the price."
Replying to a question, Nayak said she was not aware whether other members of her party were also given similar offers. All BJD MPs would vote against the government, Nayak said. "We will go by the party decision to oppose the UPA government," she said.
Lalu’s instant reaction, followed by Cong’s defence
RJD leader and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad has demanded that a narco test be conducted on the BJP members who alleged that they were offered bribe to remain absent during the trust vote. "Yeh sab jali hai. (This is all planted)," Prasad said and demanded an inquiry into it.
The Congress has charged that the BJP came up with the allegation that a Samajwadi Party leader tried to bribe three of their MPs because it wanted to disrupt the proceedings of Lok Sabha. "BJP wanted to disrupt the proceedings. So they came up with these allegations," senior Congress leader Jayanti Natarajan said.
Reactions of Advani, Rajnath,
Reacting to the shameful incident, senior BJP leader L K Advani demanded a detailed investigation by the Lok Sabha Speaker into allegations that three of his MPs were offered Rs 9 crores by the Samajwadi Party for abstaining during the trust vote. "On the basis of whatever happened (on the floor of the House), we can demand from the Speaker, that as the issue is so serious, that a detailed investigation should be done," Advani told reporters. Advani's demand came shortly after unprecedented scenes were witnessed in the Lok Sabha when a BJP MP waved in the well of the House wads of currency notes offered as a bribe. Advani claimed that the three BJP MPs -- Ashok Argal, Faggan Singh Kulaste and Mahavir Bagora -- were offered Rs 3 crores each and were handed over Rs 1 crore each in advance.
Terming the incident as a breach of privilege, the Leader of the Opposition said the MPs were allegedly given the money for abstaining from the voting during the trust vote. "In my own whole life I have not come across such a sad event. We had received information yesterday and today. This is shameful," he said. Advani noted that he had hinted about horse-trading in his speech on Monday while some Left members openly spoke about such things in the House. He said three BJP MPs came to him on Monday saying that they were offered Rs 3 crores each for "only abstaining" during the voting. "Rs 1 crore was given in advance and the rest was to be given later," he claimed. "But as the JMM scandal, it is not a small thing and it is related to Parliament. It is a case of corruption. Whoever had given, whoever tells them to abstain, this is the breach of privilege," Advani said. He said the incident should be taken "very seriously". Advani also said he would not name anyone and "I would let them name themselves."
BJP president Rajnath Singh has demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh following allegations by three of his party MPs that they were offered money by a Samajwadi Party leader to abstain from voting. "After this incident the PM has no right to continue in the chair, he should resign," Singh said referring to the incident in which a BJP MP displayed wads of notes before the Lok Sabha claiming that it was offered by an SP leader to abstain himself from voting. BJP has been saying that Congress and its allies have been pressuring its MPs to either vote for the UPA government or abstain from voting, Singh said. "This is shameful and unfortunate in the history of the Parliament. This has happened for the first time in the history of Independent India. Congress has sullied the image of the country in the world with this act," said Singh.
Speaker’s assurance
Diplomatically handling the serious issue, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said nobody will be spared if found guilty in the allegations of bribery to three BJP MPs for abstaining from the vote of confidence. Describing the incident when one of the MPs displayed bundles of currency allegedly given to him as bribe as "most unfortunate and a very sad day in the history of Parliament", the Speaker promised that all possible steps will be taken as custodian of the House. "Nobody will be spared if found guilty," he said adjourning the House for the fourth time in the wake of the bribery allegations. He said there was a meeting of political leaders to discuss the issue and he has requested the three BJP MPs to give their complaint in writing to him. Chatterjee said he has already heard them.
Amar Singh threatens defamation case against BJP MPs
Strongly dismissing allegations by the BJP that a Samajwadi Party leader had bribed its three MPs to abstain from voting in Parliament on the confidence motion, SP leader Amar Singh warned that he would slap a defamation case against the BJP leaders. "I am warning the three BJP MPs. They will have to go to jail for defaming me. A case will be slapped against them," Singh told reporters here. Claiming that the BJP MPs had named him and senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel as the persons who handed over the bribe, Singh said there was no proof with the BJP to make such an allegation against him and that he was "not too naive" to fall into such a trap. "When I or SP's representative went to their home to give them the money, why did not the three MPs inform the police or their top leaders immediately to get us arrested?" he said.
Singh said the allegations were a direct attack on Congress President Sonia Gandhi and SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav and their secular policies. Stating that he too could level a similar allegation against any BJP leader including Leader of the Opposition L K Advani, Singh said: "May I go to Parliament and claim that Advani had paid me Rs 10 crore as bribe and carry the cash to the House?" Alleging that it was all a "conspiracy" by the BJP to "malign" him, Singh said the the saffron party had a "culture of bribing" MPs from other parties.
Ahmed Patel terms bribery charges as conspiracy
Rebuking allegations of bribing, senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel said he was ready to give up public life if anyone proves that he paid money to BJP MPs for abstaining during the trust vote and termed it a conspiracy. Patel, Political Secretary to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, said his party and his name were dragged into the controversy and felt that it could be a strategy of the Opposition to avoid the trust vote as they fear defeat. "I am ready to quit public life if someone can prove that I bribed the MPs," Patel told reporters. Noting that it was a "serious but baseless allegation", he said, "if somebody is taking a name, they should have strong evidence to prove that." Asked whether he felt it was a conspiracy by the Opposition to avoid trust vote, he said, "it could be...yes of course, it could be to scuttle the vote of confidence."
Blast from past. Similar show of cash in Mid–80s
The dramatic scenes of a BJP MP bringing in bundles of currency in the Lok Sabha alleging bribery brought back memories of similar incident in the mid-80s when an AIADMK MP opened a suitcase with Rs two lakh in the House. R Soundarajan shocked the House when he alleged that he was offered the money to change sides in the wake of split in the party after the death of MGR. The money was later handed over to the police and a case was filed. Another action that created flutter in the House was the late Madhu Dandavate displaying an unloaded pistol to show how lax the security was. Later, he apologized.
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