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Indian govt accused of bribery
22/07/2008 19:02 - (SA)
New Delhi - A crucial confidence debate in the Indian parliament descended into chaos on Tuesday when an opposition MP started waving around large bundles of cash he said had been paid to him in bribes.
The stormy scenes forced the speaker to adjourn the session to restore order ahead of a confidence vote that will decide the fate of India's coalition government and a controversial nuclear deal with the United States.
Ashok Argal, an MP from the main opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), interrupted proceedings by producing bags stuffed with notes he said amounted to 30 million rupees.
He shouted that the money had been given to him to abstain from voting, and help the government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to survive.
A spokesperson from the ruling Congress party, Rajeev Shukla, immediately rejected the allegations that the coalition or its backers were paying for votes.
"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".
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.
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