-------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Goanetters annual meet in Goa is scheduled for Dec 27, 2005 @ 4pm | | | | Watch this space for more details | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- MPLAD scam: Inquiry ordered against 5 MPs Wednesday December 21 2005 00:00 IST PTI
NEW DELHI: The latest MPLAD project allocation expose had its fallout in Parliament on Tuesday with the Lok Sabha Speaker ordering an inquiry against five members and asking them not to attend the session till a decision was taken and Rajya Sabha Chairman referring to the Ethics Committee the conduct of two. Taking cognizance of the second scam, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee announced in the House that an inquiry would be conducted into the "serious allegations of improper conduct". The Speaker asked the five MPs figuring in the fresh expose not to attend the House until the matter was looked into and a decision taken. The five Lok Sabha MPs are Alemao Churchil (Cong), Faggan Singh Kulaste, Ramswaroop Koli and Chandra Pratap Singh (all BJP) and Parasnath Yadav (SP). Rajya Sabha Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat referred to the Ethics Committee the cases of Sakshi Maharaj of the Rashtriya Kranti Dal and BSP member Isham Singh. In his observations, Shekhawat said two members of the Upper House, who figured in the expose, and what was shown by the private TV channel had lowered the prestige of the House. Members in both Houses were divided on the issue of scrapping the MPLAD scheme under which each MP is allocated Rs 2 crore for development work of his constituency. While some favoured its outright scrapping, others said it should be continued but with a better monitoring mechanism. A probe is already underway against 10 MPs who were caught on camera taking money purportedly for raising questions in Parliament. Meanwhile, the Congress ruled out immediate action against former Goa Chief Minister Churchil Alemao (MP) in the light of allegations of corruption in the MPLAD scheme as he has challenged the veracity of the report and filed an FIR at the Tilak Marg police station here against the channel which carried the sting operation. "Action would be taken only if it was felt necessary after the matter was considered by Congress General Secretary Margaret Alva, who was in charge of the party affairs of Goa," party spokesman Anand Sharma told journalists at a briefing. Alemao had written to party president Sonia Gandhi and Alva, rejecting the allegations of corruption and that the channel had "tampered with" the video footage, he said. Asked why the party was discriminating between Alemao and Ramsevak Singh (MP), who was suspended from the Congress Parliamentary Party following a similar expose last week, Sharma said the earlier allegation had been substantiated by the video footage, showing the MP receiving money. But in the case of Alemao there was no such evidence, he said. Further, Alemao had also contended that he had offered to sell his own land worth Rs 15 lakh for a project and taking money for personal land did not amount to corruption. Speaker Somnath Chatterjee has called a dinner meeting tomorrow with topmost leaders in Parliament, including Rajya Sabha chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, to discuss the MPLAD scheme, possibly a proposal to scrap it. The invitees include Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, former Prime Minister A B Vajpayee, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, leaders of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Jaswant Singh and in Lok Sabha L K Advani, and leader of the lower house Pranab Mukherjee. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Goa - 2005 Santosh Trophy Champions | | | | Support Soccer Activities at the grassroots in our villages | | Vacationing in Goa this year-end - Carry and distribute Soccer Balls | --------------------------------------------------------------------------
