NEW DELHI: BJP on Tuesday demanded the
resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over allegations the government was
bribing MPs to survive a vote of confidence in Parliament.
The
demand came as a crucial debate descended into chaos when BJP MPs started waving
around large bundles of cash they said had been paid to them in bribes. (
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)
Officials in Parliament said
the speaker, Somnath Chatterjee, had called in Delhi's police chief to
investigate the claims.
The confidence vote, however, was set to go
ahead at 6:00 pm (1230 GMT), they said.
"Over the last three or four
days, there has been pressure on our MPs to take money to either abstain or vote
for the government, and this has been done by the Congress and their
supporters," Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Rajnath Singh told
reporters.
"Now that it has been exposed, the prime minister should
resign his post. This scandal has lowered the dignity of our parliament," he
said, adding the party had video evidence of money changing hands.
"Never in the history of our parliament has such a shameful and
revolting scandal unfolded," he said.
The stormy scenes forced the
Speaker to adjourn the session to restore order ahead of a confidence vote that
will decide the fate of UPA government and a controversial nuclear energy deal
with the United States.
BJP lawmaker Ashok Argal interrupted
proceedings by producing bags stuffed with notes he said amounted to 30 million
rupees (715,000 dollars).
He alleged the money had been given to him
to abstain from voting and help Singh's government survive. Two other BJP
lawmakers levelled similar allegations.
Lok Sabha television's
coverage of the debate was immediately interrupted and images of Mother Teresa
were broadcast instead.
A spokesman from the ruling Congress party,
Rajeev Shukla, immediately rejected the allegations.
"What is the
evidence to suggest that the Congress has given the money?" he said, adding that
Argal -- having apparently accepted the bribe -- would himself "become liable to
criminal proceedings."
Another Congress spokesman said the
allegations were made because the BJP knew it could not topple the government.
Marxist party leader Prakash Karat said the incident was "shameful
for our democracy."
"Practically every member of parliament has been
approached with offers of money and inducements," he alleged.
The
special parliament session and vote was triggered after a bloc of left-wing and
communist parties withdrew support for Singh in protest over the deal with
Washington, designed to bring India into the global loop of nuclear commerce.