The Rajya Sabha erupted in a row on Friday after Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar said that security officials found ‘a wad of currency notes’ from the chair of a member of parliament.
Vice President Dhankar said that the bundle of cash was found in seat number 222 which is currently allotted to Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi.
“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,” Dhankar said as he ordered a probe into the matter.
The RS chairman said that the bundle of cash appears to have 100 notes of Rs 500, adding that it is not yet clear whether the currency notes were real or fake.
Singhvi, meanwhile, has denied the allegations levelled against him, saying “it is the first time he has heard of it”.
“I carry one Rs 500 note when I go to Rajya Sabha. I heard about this for the first time. I reached the House at 12:57 PM and the house rose at 1 PM, then I sat in the canteen till 1:30 PM and then I left the parliament,” he said.
The Congress MP added that he stayed in the House for just three minutes and spent 30 minutes at the canteen.
“I find it bizarre that politics is raised even on such issues. Of course, there must be an inquiry as to how people can come and put anything anywhere in any seat. It means that each of us must have a seat where the seat itself can be locked and the key can be carried home by the MP because everybody can then do things on the seat and make allegations about this,” he said.
The controversy has drawn the ire of the BJP with leaders calling it an “insult” to the integrity of the Rajya Sabha.
Congress President and LoP in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said that the name of the member should not be named until the investigation is complete. “You are all lawyers. How can you do this?” he said.
To this Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said, “The Chairman has rightly pointed out the seat number and the member who occupies that particular seat number. What is wrong with that? Why there should be an objection?”
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Dhankhar orders probe after staff finds cash from Rajya Sabha member’s seat during security check
