Cash-for-vote probe panel likely to ask for more time
The seven-member parliamentary panel investigating the cash-for-votes scandal will not be able to submit its report to the Speaker by August 11.
By ET Bureau |
NEW DELHI: The seven-member parliamentary panel investigating the cash-for-votes scandal will not be able to submit its report to the Speaker by August 11. The House Privileges Committee chairperson V Kishore Chandra Deo, who heads this panel, proposes to seek time till the end of the month to complete its investigation.
Work on the investigation began with the panel reviewing the taped evidence, that is video and audio tapes of the sting operation undertaken by a television channel. The whole exercise took about three hours. It would appear that the audio levels of the tape were low, but that is unlikely to present a problem as the panel has access to audio enhancers. Additionally members will be provided with transcripts in a day or so. ���We watched the audio and video tapes. We have asked the Lok Sabha secretariat to make a transcript,��� Mr Deo said.
Sources indicated that there is ���more than enough in tapes��� to reach a decisive conclusion. ���There is enough material in the tapes, more than what is given in the text of the 17-page letter from two of the complainants, BJP MPs Ashok Argal and Faggan Singh Kulaste���, sources close to the investigations said.
In the meantime, the panel has received two other tapes. One from Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh and the other from Bharatiya Janshakti Party leader Uma Bharati. Both tapes suggest that the BJP is involved in setting up the scam. However , the panel is in no hurry to view the tapes. Mr Deo said, ���We have not seen them. We will watch them later if need be and whether they are relevant to the present case.��� Sources also indicated that if the tapes are viewed by the panel, it would mean that Mr Amar Singh and Ms Uma Bharati would have to appear before the panel. ���It is unlikely that Mr Amar Singh would want to appear before the panel���, a source said.
As of now, the issue of Mr Amar Singh appearing before the panel is an unresolved matter. Mr Singh, along with Congress president Sonia Gandhi���s political secretary, Mr Ahmed Patel, has been named in the petition by the three BJP MPs. However, since both Mr Singh and Mr Patel are Rajya Sabha members , a Lok Sabha panel cannot summon them to appear. In its first meeting, the panel had decided to ask Speaker Somnath Chatterjee to request Rajya Sabha chairman to allow both MPs to appear before the panel for questioning. Sources said that the legal position ���is still being looked into��� The chairperson of the panel, however, chose not to make any commitments on the issue. ���We have not come to that stage,��� Mr Deo said.
Besides recommending expulsion of members found guilty, the panel also has the power to recommend imprisonment for 40 days from the last day of the session.
At its next meeting on August 7, the three BJP Mps ��� Ashok Argal, Faggan Singh Kulaste and Mahavir Bhagoda ��� will depose before the panel. After which, on August 11, the panel has asked CNN-IBN channel, which had conducted the sting operation, to appear before it. Following this, the panel will summon Samajwadi Party MP Rewati Raman Singh, who is a Lok Sabha MP from Allahabad.
Work on the investigation began with the panel reviewing the taped evidence, that is video and audio tapes of the sting operation undertaken by a television channel. The whole exercise took about three hours. It would appear that the audio levels of the tape were low, but that is unlikely to present a problem as the panel has access to audio enhancers. Additionally members will be provided with transcripts in a day or so. ���We watched the audio and video tapes. We have asked the Lok Sabha secretariat to make a transcript,��� Mr Deo said.
Sources indicated that there is ���more than enough in tapes��� to reach a decisive conclusion. ���There is enough material in the tapes, more than what is given in the text of the 17-page letter from two of the complainants, BJP MPs Ashok Argal and Faggan Singh Kulaste���, sources close to the investigations said.
In the meantime, the panel has received two other tapes. One from Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh and the other from Bharatiya Janshakti Party leader Uma Bharati. Both tapes suggest that the BJP is involved in setting up the scam. However , the panel is in no hurry to view the tapes. Mr Deo said, ���We have not seen them. We will watch them later if need be and whether they are relevant to the present case.��� Sources also indicated that if the tapes are viewed by the panel, it would mean that Mr Amar Singh and Ms Uma Bharati would have to appear before the panel. ���It is unlikely that Mr Amar Singh would want to appear before the panel���, a source said.
As of now, the issue of Mr Amar Singh appearing before the panel is an unresolved matter. Mr Singh, along with Congress president Sonia Gandhi���s political secretary, Mr Ahmed Patel, has been named in the petition by the three BJP MPs. However, since both Mr Singh and Mr Patel are Rajya Sabha members , a Lok Sabha panel cannot summon them to appear. In its first meeting, the panel had decided to ask Speaker Somnath Chatterjee to request Rajya Sabha chairman to allow both MPs to appear before the panel for questioning. Sources said that the legal position ���is still being looked into��� The chairperson of the panel, however, chose not to make any commitments on the issue. ���We have not come to that stage,��� Mr Deo said.
Besides recommending expulsion of members found guilty, the panel also has the power to recommend imprisonment for 40 days from the last day of the session.
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At its next meeting on August 7, the three BJP Mps ��� Ashok Argal, Faggan Singh Kulaste and Mahavir Bhagoda ��� will depose before the panel. After which, on August 11, the panel has asked CNN-IBN channel, which had conducted the sting operation, to appear before it. Following this, the panel will summon Samajwadi Party MP Rewati Raman Singh, who is a Lok Sabha MP from Allahabad.
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