Parliamentary probe begins on 'cash-for-vote' scam

New Delhi, Aug 6 (PTI) The Parliamentary Committee examining the 'cash-for-vote' scam got down to business Monday by viewing audio and video tapes of the sting operation about the scandal which rocked Lok Sabha, the lower house of Indian Parliament, during the trust vote on July 22.

The seven-member committee will also record the evidence on August 7 of three
opposition Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs who shocked the nation by tabling bundles
of currency notes alleging that the money was given to them as bribes to abstain
from the trust vote on the Manmohan Singh government.

The committee headed by senior Congress MP V Kishore Chandra Deo has been asked to
submit its report by August 11. But Deo said the panel will seek extension till the
month-end to complete its task.

After watching the tapes for nearly three hours, the committee has asked the Lok
Sabha Secretariat to make the transcript available to the members.

The Committee also asked CNN-IBN, the private TV channel which had conducted the
sting operation but came under BJP's attack for not telecasting it, to send its
representative on August 11, Deo said.

In their petition seeking a probe into the charge that attempts were made to bribe
them to get their support in the trust vote, the three MPs -- Ashok Argal, Fagan
Singh Kulaste and Mahavir Bhagora -- are believed to have named Samajwadi Party
General Secretary Amar Singh and Congress leader Ahmed Patel. Both members of Rajya
Sabha denied the charge.

Following withdrawal of support to the UPA government by the left parties on the
nuclear deal issue, Samajwadi Party had extended its support to the coalition
enabling Manmohan Singh to win the July 22 trust vote. PTI