Another TV operation exposes seven MPs

NEW DELHI, Tuesday (PTI) - Close on the heels of a sting operation showing 11 MPs accepting money to ask questions, another TV channel has come out with yet another embarrassing expose highlighting corruption in selecting projects for the Member of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD) Scheme.

"Operation Chakravyuh" by Star News-Detective Intelligence Guild (DIG) showed seven MPs, including a former Congress Goa Chief Minister and a former Union Minister, involved in corruption in allotting work.

Of the seven, three belong to the Bharatiya Janata Party and one each to the Congress, the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Rashtriya Kranti Dal.

Five are Lok Sabha members. Star News on Monday released the transcripts and event descriptions of the meeting with the MPs. It said a Samajwadi Party MP refused to discuss or accept any commission.

The Congress MP from Goa is shown asking the DIG reporters to open a bag full of money as commission for a project. The sting operation also shows the personal secretary of a BJP MP taking money on behalf of two MPs of the party.

One of these MPs was also exposed in the cash-on-camera "Operation Duryodhan" last week. The team is shown discussing the commission with a BJP MP at his house.

The audio records the transaction to establish that money has been paid and that the MP will get Rs. 20,000 for a Rs. 5 lakh job.

The SP MP is approached by the reporters and a 20 per cent commission is agreed upon for a Rs. 10-15 lakh project. But when the team offers him only Rs. 50,000, the MP throws a tantrum.

A Rajya Sabha member from Uttar Pradesh openly discusses the commission and promises to take the sting team, posing as NGOs, to some other MPs, including one person who was suspended in the wake of the cash-on-camera operation.

The RKD MP justifies accepting such commissions saying it would be difficult to contest the Lok Sabha polls if one did not take such money.The BSP MP says the issue of commissions on the MPLAD Scheme will be worked out after consultations with colleagues.