No meeting of LS ethics panel on Narada scam: CPI(M)

The Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha, which is probing the Narada scam involving bribery charges against some Trinamool Congress MPs, has not held a single meeting till now, the CPI(M) said today.
"While a fast-track process is underway for (AAP MP) Bhagwant Mann, not a single meeting has been convened till now on this serious (Narada) issue," CPI(M) leader Mohd Salim told reporters here.
Six MPs, including one from Rajya Sabha, were caught on camera in a sting operation allegedly accepting bribes.
"The Committee should find out the truth and take action as per the rules. There seems to be some collaborative arrangement between the two parties (BJP and TMC) ... It is a tie-up between 'Didibhai and Modibhai'," he said.

Maintaining that "neither the Centre, nor the state government has filed an FIR on the issue," the CPI(M) leader said it was ironic that an FIR has been lodged against the person who carried out the sting operation.
The Narada case was referred on March 16 to the ethics panel, headed by BJP leader L K Advani, which had issued notices to five MPs of Lok Sabha a month later. The TMC MPs are Suvendu Adhikari, Saugata Roy, Sultan Ahmed, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and Prasoon Banerjee, while Mukul Roy belongs to the Rajya Sabha.

Stating that he has written a letter to Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on the matter, Salim said in the earlier 'cash-for- query' scam, which had led to termination of 11 MPs - 10 were from Lok Sabha and one from Rajya Sabha in 2005, the Lower House had set up an ad hoc parliamentary committee to go into the issue and action was taken.

"But the Narada case has been sent to the Ethics Committee," Salim said, adding that the members of this panel were "not aware of anything" including when a meeting will be held.
To questions on the Bhagwant Mann case, Salim said generally when a member apologises, no action is taken. "At least, there is no such precedent (that action is taken after an apology is tendered)," he said.