Discussion on cash-for-votes scam as important as Finance Bill: Jaitley
March 22nd, 2011 - 10:11 pm ICT by ANI
New Delhi, Mar 22 (ANI): Slamming the Manmohan Singh-led UPA Government for refusing to discuss WikiLeaks expose on the cash-for-votes scam, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley, on Tuesday said that the discussion on the leaked cables was as important as the Finance Bill.
He also told a news channel that the UPA government had lost the confidence to govern the nation.
Jaitley further said that he did not understand why the government deferred the discussion on the issue.
His remarks came after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today staged a walkout from the Lok Sabha after the Chair disallowed a discussion on WikiLeaks ahead of the discussion on the Finance Bill.The BJP moved a privilege notice in the Lok Sabha against Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singhs response to the WikiLeaks cables that suggested that the Congress had bribed lawmakers to win a confidence motion in 2008.
Maintaining that the Prime Minister had “misled” Parliament on the cash-for-vote episode, the BJP said it was absolutely justified in taking this action as per parliamentary practices.
Dr. Singh had claimed last week that Members of Parliament were not bribed during the July 2008 trust vote even though the Parliamentary probe committee said that money was paid.
The Congress led UPA had earlier said it would move a privilege motion against Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, for trying to seek a clarification from the Prime Minister on the issue of cash for votes in spite of the Speaker Meira Kumar not allowing her to do so.
The Prime Minister had told Parliament last week that no bribe was paid, while the Kishore Chandra Deo committee that looked into the issue had stated that bribe was paid. (ANI)
- BJP moves privilege notice against PM in cash-for-vote scam - Mar 22, 2011
- Cash-for-votes scam: Congress pulls up BJP for disrupting Parliamentary proceedings - Mar 22, 2011
- Government agrees to discuss PM's statement on WikiLeaks - Mar 23, 2011
- WikiLeaks: Walkout in Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha adjourned (Roundup) - Mar 22, 2011
- PM takes on opposition, denies Wiki leaks on cash-for-votes scam (Roundup) - Mar 18, 2011
- BJP to move privilege motion against PM - Mar 18, 2011
- Investigations into cash for votes to be completed shortly: Chidambaram - Mar 23, 2011
- Facing attack, Jaitley again clarifies on 'opportunistic' WikiLeaks - Mar 28, 2011
- Cash-for-votes scam: Opposition targets PM in Lok Sabha - Mar 23, 2011
- BJP to serve breach of privilege notice against PM - Mar 21, 2011
- BJP signals normal functioning of parliament Wednesday - Mar 22, 2011
- PM 'rejects firmly' bribery allegation on 2008 trust vote (Lead) - Mar 18, 2011
- Go Manmohan, says opposition after WikiLeaks expose (Intro-Roundup) - Mar 17, 2011
- No bribery during 2008 trust vote, says PM - Mar 23, 2011
- PM rejects WikiLeaks expose, says claims are unverifiable - Mar 18, 2011
Tags: arun jaitley, bharatiya janata party, bjp today, confidence motion, dr singh, finance bill, kishore, leader of opposition, Lok Sabha, manmohan, manmohan singh, manmohan singhs, meira kumar, members of parliament, parliamentary practices, parliamentary probe, rajya sabha, sushma swaraj, trust vote, wikileaks