TMC Sting Operation Referred to the Parliament Ethics Committee

TMC and the CPI(M) members exchanged heated words in the Rajya Sabha over the TMC sting operation video

CPI(M) General Secretary, Sitaram Yechury in the Rajya Sabha. (Photo: Rajya Sabha TV)

The Rajya Sabha, on Wednesday, witnessed acrimonious scenes during the zero hour over a sting operation in West Bengal as members from the Trinamool Congress and the Communist Party of India-Marxist exchanged heated words.

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, on Wednesday, referred the matter of the sting operation to the Ethics Committee for investigation. She made an announcement to this effect immediately after the question hour ended.

A sting operation by a news portal allegedly showed several Trinamool Congress leaders accepting money in return for lobbying for a private firm.

Urging the government to immediately order a probe into the matter, CPI-M general secretary, Sitaram Yechury said:

This is a scam of the highest order. If the government is not responding, the chair has to protect the dignity of the house and order a house probe. When the <i>Tehelka</i> tapes came (during the Vajpayee government), their leader (Mamata Banerjee) and their party had walked out of the BJP government.

He said perhaps there was a “match-fixing” between the government and the Trinamool Congress on the issue.

Pushed to the wall on the sting controversy, both in parliament and outside, the Trinamool Congress questioned the credibility of the video footage and hinted that foreign money was involved in creating these videos.

Let us not judge the credibility of the video; let’s judge the source of the video.

<b>Derek O’Brien, TMC leader</b>

He also added that the day the “so-called” sting operation video was released, the portal company had made five telephone calls to Dubai.

As the Trinamool and Left members clashed, some CPI-M members trooped into the well of the house.

Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien told agitating Trinamool members:

What’s the point fighting when he (Yechury) is only demanding an investigation! What is your objection over it?