Row Over Wads Of Cash At Congman Seat In RS: How MPs Reacted

New Delhi: Rajya Sabha witnessed chaos and verbal face-off on Friday morning, following the ‘recovery’ of bundle of currency notes from seat no 222, belonging to Abhishek Manu Singhvi, the Congress MP from Telangana.

The controversy broke out after House chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar informed the House about the finding during the routine anti-sabotage security check, before closing hours of the Rajya Sabha on December 5.

Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi has demanded a thorough probe into the incident. He also shared that out of 33 minutes he spent in Parliament on Thursday, the majority of this time was spent in canteen with SP MP Awadesh Prasad. Shockingly, the SP MP has outrightly dismissed Singhvi's claim that he spent time with the Congress MP having lunch in the canteen.

"Yesterday, I did not have lunch in Parliament. I ate my lunch at home and then came here. I sit in the Lok Sabha, not the Rajya Sabha. Nothing of this sort happened. I did not have lunch with him," he said. Several Parliamentarians have reacted to the issue, with most expressing shock and demanding a detailed probe into the incident.

BJP MP Ravi Kishan remarked, "This is a criminal offence and a matter that requires investigation. In the country's largest Panchayat (Parliament), bundles of cash were discovered. Why were they in the House? What was their purpose? Everything has been captured on camera, truth will soon come to light."

BJP lawmaker Manoj Tiwari also reacted to the incident saying, "I am deeply shocked. The Parliament is the temple of democracy, and such a large amount of money is neither required nor appropriate there. Bundles of cash have been discovered from a Congress leader. When we leave our seats, they are checked. Even if I forgot something, like I did forget my phone, I was immediately informed."

"In Jharkhand, too, a large amount of money was found at the house of a Congress leader. The extent of Congress's black money is immeasurable," he added.

Rajya Sabha MP Kartikey Sharma remarked, "This is a very unfortunate incident that occurred in Parliament. Such a bundle of cash was found, and no one has claimed it. A thorough investigation should be conducted. This is a serious matter of concern as it sends the wrong message to the public and the youth."

BJP RS MP Sudhanshu Trivedi also reacted to the incident saying, "As the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha began, an inappropriate incident occurred where a bundle of cash was discovered with a Congress leader. No one came forward to claim it, which shows that they are so wealthy they don't even care to retrieve the money. The Congress party must answer for this."

BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari stated, "The Congress Party is the origin of corruption. They hold the Constitution in their hands, but they carry black money in their pockets."