11 MPs caught taking bribes in sting operation

NEW DELHI: Eleven Members of Parliament, including six of the Bharatiya Janata Party, were on Monday shown accepting money for raising questions in the House in a sensational sting operation forcing embarrassed political parties to suspend them and the Lok Sabha Speaker to ask them to stay away from proceedings.
 
Those caught on camera, in the sting codenamed Operation Duryodhan conducted by Cobrapost.com of Tehelka fame Aniruddha Bahal and Aaj Tak channel, were Lok Sabha members Y G Mahajan, Anna Patil, Suresh Chandel, Pradeep Gandhi and Chandra Pratap Singh (all Bharatiya Janata Party), Narendra Kumar Kushwaha, Raja Ram Pal and Lal Chandra Kol (all Bahujan Samaj Party), Manoj Kumar (Rashtriya Janata Dal) and Ramsewak Singh (Congress).
 
The Rajya Sabha member was Chatra Pal Singh Lodha (BJP), hailing from Uttar Pradesh and elected from Orissa.
 
All the Lok Sabha members caught on camera have been asked to submit their explanations by Wednesday morning to an inquiry committee set up by Speaker Somnath Chatterjee.

 

The Ethics Committee of the Rajya Sabha decided to issue a showcause notice to BJP member Chhattrapal Singh Lodha.

 

As the news channel started telecast of the story in the morning, a shocked Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee spoke to political leaders, including Leader of the Opposition L K Advani, and discussed with them the course of action to be taken.
 
Taking serious note of the expose, Chatterjee made a statement in the House shortly after it met for the day asking the members caught on camera not to attend the proceedings till the matter is looked into with all the importance it deserves.
 
"Nobody will be spared. We shall certainly respond to it in a manner that behoves us," he said.

 

In the Rajya Sabha, Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat referred the matter to the Ethics Committee and directed it to urgently give its recommendations for action. He expressed anguish over the member's behaviour and said it had brought down the dignity of Parliament.
 
Members cutting across party lines demanded stringent action against erring MPs with some of them even calling for their disqualification.
 
Ahead of a meeting of BJP-ruled chief ministers here, Advani consulted senior party leaders announced suspension of the six MPs from the Parliamentary Party and instituting an internal inquiry into the episode. If necessary the party would refer it to the Privileges Committee.
 
Congress President Sonia Gandhi also directed suspension of Ramsewar Singh from the party while BSP chief Mayawati took similar action against three of her party MPs.
 
RJD Chief Lalu Prasad Yadav also promised stern action against his party MP Manoj Kumar.
 
In a letter to Shekhawat,four Rajya Sabha members said the behaviour of the MPs has not only denigrated the dignity of Parliament but also lowered the image of individual MPs.
 
"We feel the MPs in question should be forthwith suspended from the Houses pending inquiry which would be conducted by an Independent Authority."
       
The MPs who wrote the letter are Dinesh Trivedi (Trinamool Congress), Chandan Mitra (BJP), Tariq Anwar  (NCP) and Robert Kharshing.

 

Acting quickly, the Lok Sabha Secretariat issued showcause notices to the 10 members belonging to the House asking them to give their replies by Wednesday.
 
The Ethics Committee of Rajya Sabha sent a similar notice to Chatrapal Singh Lodha. The BJP, the worst sufferer in the expose, constituted an internal committee comprising Sushma Swaraj and Anant Kumar to probe the issue of six of its MPs taking money.
 
Cobrapost-Aaj Tak said the sting operation lasting more than nine months logged 56 video and 70 audio tapes  besides recording more than 900 telephone calls.

 

Cobrapost Editor Bahal, who had participated in the Tehelka operation against Bangaru Laxman and others in 2001, and women reporter Suhasni Raj posed as representatives of a fictitious organisation called North Indian Small Manufacturers Association to ask questions in Parliament.
 
The MPs were paid Rs 15,000 to Rs 1,10,000. Several MPs also wanted an ‘annual fee’ of Rs 5 lakh to Rs 6 lakh from NISMA to put in as many proxy questions as it wanted.