New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha descended into chaos on Friday as chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar announced that Parliament security staff had retrieved cash from the seat of Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi.
The MP representing Telangana in the Rajya Sabha put out a message on ‘X’, saying that he only carries “one Rs 500 note” along with him in the Upper House of Parliament.
Earlier, Dhankhar stated that an investigation was initiated, as was the case in such cases.
“I hereby inform the members that during the routine anti-sabotage check of the chamber after the adjournment of the House yesterday, apparently a wad of currency notes was recovered by the security officials from seat number 222 which is presently allotted to Abhishek Manu Singhvi, elected from the state of Telangana. The matter was brought to my notice, and I made sure an investigation takes place and the same is underway,” Dhankhar said in the Rajya Sabha.
The statement led to protests by the Congress MPs, with Leader of Opposition (LoP) Mallikarjun Kharge asserting that the Chairperson should not have named the member until the investigation is completed.
To this, the Rajya Sabha chairperson said that he would appreciate if the LoP’s request that no debate is made out of a matter which was under investigation. “…in responding to the LoP, I was extremely concerned and, therefore, I myself asserted whether the member has really attended the House. I could not go more than that,” Dhankhar added.
Union minister and BJP MP J.P. Nadda said that the episode was a very serious matter and was an attack on the dignity of the House.
“It raises a question on the working of this House. I have full faith in you and your ruling that the investigation will be conducted in detail, and we will have a clear picture in front of us soon,” Nadda said to the Rajya Sabha chairperson. “I was expecting the LoP to say that the investigation be conducted in a free and fair manner. Good sense should prevail on the Opposition always.”
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju wondered who would carry a bundle of currency notes “in the age of Digital India”. “I don’t understand why there should be an objection that the Chair should not take the name of the member. The Chairman has rightly pointed out the seat number and the member who occupies that particular seat number. What is wrong with that? Why should there be an objection?” he added.
Union Minister Piyush Goyal chipped in saying that “today cash has been found, tomorrow something else will be found”. “They (the Opposition) base their narrative on foreign reports, and stall the House. Is there a conspiracy in this as well? People will have to worry about the kind of give and take that happens to forward the fake narrative,” he said.
Nadda, the Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha, suggested that the House should pass a resolution saying the proceedings of the House should never be disrupted. “If such good sense is prevailing over the Opposition today, then we should take the opportunity to pass a motion to disallow disruption of proceedings in the future, and Zero Hour and Question Hour be conducted properly. This should be condemned by all in the House,” he said.
Outside Parliament, Singhvi called the entire episode “bizarre”. “I am quite astonished to even hear about it. I never heard of it. I reached the inside of the House yesterday at 12.57 pm. The House rose at 1 pm. From 1 to 1:30 pm, I sat with Ayodhya Prasad in the canteen and had lunch,” he said.
“At 1:30 pm, I left Parliament. So my total stay in the House yesterday was 3 minutes and my stay in the canteen was 30 minutes. I find it bizarre that even on such issues politics is raised. Of course, there must be an inquiry as to how people can come and put anything anywhere in any seat.”
Everybody should cooperate in getting to the bottom of this case, he added.
Former Lok Sabha Secretary General PDT Achary told ThePrint that it could be a serious issue related to security if nobody comes to claim the cash found in Parliament. “..if an MP claims, then it has no issue because anybody can take out cash from the bank… In 2008, when cash was brought in the House, it was claimed by the BJP members that it was to expose the cash-for-vote scam,” he added.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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