Congress spent crores to buy opposition MPs in 2008: Prakash Karat

CPI(M) today charged the Congress with buying many MPs to save its government in a trust vote in July 2008 and demanded a wider probe into the matter.

"It was well known that in the last Lok Sabha, the government tried to win over MPs and hundreds of crores of rupees were spent to bribe them at that time," CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat alleged at a public meeting on corruption in Delhi.

"The cash-for-vote scam is only one such case where three MPs dumped the money on the floor of the House and a probe was initiated. The real thing is that hundreds of crores of rupees were spent by Congress to buy opposition MPs," he said.

Seeking a thorough probe into the matter, Karat said "members of the opposition were bought over. We know how many MPs were bribed. Each party could tell us at the time. We knew all but only Amar Singh's name came out. We know at who's behest he was acting. The Delhi police cannot see this. Let them ask all our parties - ask Telugu Desam, ask BJP, ask JD(U), ask JD(S), ask us, ask the other parties."

Karat lamented that MPs were also taking money and sought for steps to tackle this. "If MPs are taking money and subverting democracy by defying their own party's decision, steps need to be taken. This has to be taken up and considered seriously. There has to be an amendment in the Constitution to tackle this."

Karat hoped the real people would be brought to book and expressed happiness over the arrest of some people in the case only after the Supreme Court intervened.