Home India Politics Left leaders cry foul, demand probe into bribery claims

Left leaders cry foul, demand probe into bribery claims

By IANS,

Kolkata : West Bengal Left Front leaders cried foul after the Manmohon Singh government won the Lok Sabha trust vote Tuesday and demanded a detailed inquiry into the bribery allegations levelled by three Bharatiya Janata Party MPs.

“There was definitely a foul play behind this victory of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) in the Lok Sabha. The allegations of bribery came in front of everyone when a few BJP MPs showed cash inside parliament. I want to know whether the cash has come from abroad, or from within the country,” Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) central committee member Shyamal Chakraborty told IANS here.

“The methodology adopted by the Congress-led alliance for victory in the trust vote, can only give it a short lifespan. Initially, the ruling coalition might get some oxygen, but after six months it will have a harrowing time.”

Chakraborty said: “It’s been told that the Congress is now in the intensive care unit (ICU). But that day is not far off when the party will find itself in the coffin.”

Reacting at the bribery charge inside parliament, Communist Party of India (CPI) state secretary Manju Kumar Majumdar said: “This has been the ‘most-shameful trust vote’ in the history of the Lok Sabha. The whole world saw some unscrupulous elements tried to purchase some Indian law-makers in parliament.”

“I don’t know how the Congress won the trust vote in the Lok Sabha by 19 votes, belying projections that the result will be close. There are lot of reasons to suspect the party and it’s for sure the victory was achieved through foul play. There has to be an immediate probe into the matter,” senior Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) leader and West Bengal Public Works Department Minister Kshiti Goswami said.

The four Left parties, which are constituents of the state’s ruling Left Front – Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), Communist Party of India (CPI), Forward Bloc and Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) – withdrew support to the Manmohan Singh government, protesting against its decision to go ahead with the India-US nuclear deal.