The Hindu : National : All-party meeting today to discuss MPLADS

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Thursday, Dec 22, 2005

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National

All-party meeting today to discuss MPLADS

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI : The Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee decided late on Wednesday evening to call an all-party meeting on Thursday afternoon to discuss the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS).

Apparently, he took this decision after receiving a letter from Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav saying that the MPLADS should be scrapped as there were many irregularities in its implementation.

Mr. Chatterjee hosted a dinner for senior BJP and Congress leaders including the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, the former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and Leader of the Opposition L.K. Adavani. Reports of corruption in the implementation of MPLADS was discussed at the dinner meeting.

Personally, Mr. Chatterjee has been opposed to MPLADS and even his party, the CPI(M), has never been enthusiastic about it. The latest string operation allegedly showing several MPs demanding commission for projects under MPLADS has once again brought the entire scheme into focus. Fresh demands are being heard from MPs across the political spectrum demanding that the scheme be withdrawn.

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