TMC sting operation referred to Parliament ethics committee

Lok Sabha Speaker on Wednesday referred the issue of some Trinamool Congress members allegedly accepting bribe, as shown in a purported sting operation, to the Ethics Committee, asking the L K Advani-headed panel to examine and investigate the charges.

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan made the announcement immediately after the Question Hour, a day after the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Congress and the Communist Party of India-Marxist came together in Parliament to attack the accused the TMC members and demanding a probe into the matter.

An ethics committee in 2005 had terminated the membership of 11 members of Parliament, 10 from the Lok Sabha and one from the Rajya Sabha, after finding them guilty after a sting operation allegedly showing them accepting bribes to help fictitious private firms.

Alleging "match-fixing" between the government and Trinamool Congress, CPI-M members created uproar in Rajya Sabha over the sting and sought a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the "very serious" matter

As soon as the listed papers were laid and the Zero Hour began, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien said there were two notices on the issue, but these have not been admitted by the chairman.

Kurien, however, allowed Derik O'Brien (TMC) and Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M) to speak on the issue. Rubbishing the allegations, Derek said first of all it should be checked if the person who carried out the sting operation was a journalist and questioned the authenticity of  the video.

"The sting...its credibility needs to be checked," he said, alleging foreign money was coming to India from Dubai just before the elections in West Bengal.

Saugata Roy (TMC) strongly protested the Speaker's decision, saying it was a "unilateral decision" and if it becomes a practice, then anybody will do a sting against members and inquiry would be ordered on such "unverified" contents.

"Why is the government not ordering an investigation? It looks like they are also complicit...," Yechury said, adding there was "match-fixing going on between the two (the government and the TMC)".

As protests by the Left party continued in the Well seeking a JPC probe into the video, Kurien said CPI-M members "have a reputation of not coming into the Well of the House, and now they are breaking the tradition."

To this, Yechury said: "We came into the Well as we want to uphold the integrity of the House. Our members are caught taking money. House Committee should investigate. Let there be a JPC".

Referring to an earlier incident, the senior CPI-M leader said the Lok Sabha speaker had taken suo motu action when a bribe allegation had surfaced. He said the TMC was not willing to listen to "legitimate voices", as Derek questioned the authenticity of the video.

Yechury said the Chair had referred the Vijay Mallya case to the Ethics Committee and asked why it cannot be done in this case.

Kurien replied: "At that time the House was unanimous. Now the House is divided" as one side believes the video and the other says it is doctored. During almost the entire Zero Hour, CPI-M members kept raising slogans from the Well of the House. Amid din, some other members raised their Zero Hour mentions.