TMC bribe case referred to Ethics Committee

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Wednesday referred the alleged bribery case involving the Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders to the Ethics Committee for investigation and report.

The Ethics Committee will submit its report after examining all the facts.

According to Rule 233 B of the Constitution, if a matter is raised in House then it is empowered to refer the matter to committee on ethics. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) veteran L.K. Advani is the chairman of the committee.

Earlier, the Rajya Sabha witnessed uproar during the Zero Hour over a sting operation in West Bengal as members from the Trinamool Congress and CPI (M) exchanged verbal volleys.

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.

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

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

Cornered both in the Parliament and outside, the TMC questioned the credibility of the video footage and hinted that foreign money was involved in creating these videos.