NEW DELHI, Dec 13: India’s upper house of parliament on Tuesday suspended one of its members after a TV channel aired footage of 11 MPs allegedly accepting cash for asking questions in parliament.
The suspension of Chhattrapal Singh Lodha came as newspapers splashed on their front pages news of the “sting” shown on television screens across the nation. The Hindustan Times ran pictures of the legislators taking money under the headline: “Men who sold our House.”
“MPs on sale for just 10,000 rupees,” said a headline in The Times of India.
Lodha, who belongs to the main opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was the lone member of the appointed upper house named in the scandal. The other 10 MPs belonged to the elected lower house and came from the BJP, the ruling Congress party and two regional parties.
They were suspended by their parties on Monday after the video, which showed them stuffing pockets with cash for posing questions in parliament.—AFP
