NEW DELHI: A controversy erupted in Rajya Sabha on Friday after chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar announced that a “wad of cash” was found on the seat allotted to Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi.
Dhankhar said the wad was found on seat number 222 during a routine “anti-sabotage” check on Thursday afternoon.
With BJP and its allies demanding an inquiry, Singhvi termed the “recovery” from his seat “bizarre” and demanded a probe into what he described as a “security lapse”. Denying that the money was his, he said, “Hearing of it for the first time now. I carry one Rs 500 note when I go to RS. I went inside at 12.57pm and the House rose at 1pm, then I sat in the canteen till 1.30pm and then left.”
“Of course, there should be an inquiry as to how people can come and put anything anywhere on any seat. It means that each one must have a seat which can be locked and the key can be carried home. Because anybody can do things on the seat and then make allegations about it. If it was not tragic and serious, it would be comic. Everyone should cooperate to get to the bottom of this. And, if there is a failure on the part of security agencies, that must also be completely exposed,” Singhvi added.
Dhankhar said he had ordered an inquiry since no one stepped forward to claim what looked like a “wad of 100 notes of Rs 500”.
Leader of opposition and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said he had no objection to the probe but the chair should not have named the MP as a probe was underway. Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju countered: “The chairman has rightly mentioned the seat number and member’s name. What’s wrong with that? When we are going towards Digital India, is it appropriate to carry note bundles in the House? We don’t carry notes in the House. We are only saying an investigation should be done. Why are they opposing it?”
Leader of the House and BJP president J P Nadda called the incident “extraordinary and serious”. He said it was an insult to the dignity of the House.