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Deo Committee finalising report

NEW DELHI: The Kishore Chandra Deo Parliamentary Committee probing the cash-for-votes scandal, related to the trust vote in the Lok Sabha on July 22, has begun the process of finalising its report. At its meeting here on Thursday committee members authorised the chairman Chandra Deo to write the draft report, which will then be placed before the committee at its next meeting on October 7. “I will write out the draft report which will then be discussed by the committee members at our next meeting,” Mr. Deo told The Hindu.

Two persons were to depose before the committee on Thursday but neither turned up. BJP MP Mahavir Bhagora, one of three BJP MPs, who had complained to the Speaker that an attempt was made to bribe them to defy their party whip to oppose the government in the trust vote, had so far not been able to depose before the committee as he had a heart by-pass operation about 7 weeks ago. The two other MPs – Ashok Argal and Faggan Singh Kulaste – have already deposed. Mr. Bhagora did not turn up before the committee on Thursday. Another person – Lok Sabha secretariat helped to identify him as ‘one Ali’ – was to depose as he allegedly drove two BJP MPs to the residence of Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh on the morning of July 22. He also did not turn up.

According to Mr. Amar Singh, early on Thursday morning Mr. Ali turned up at his residence and demanded Rs. 5 crore from him to depose before the committee in his favour. Mr. Amar Singh later called the police and he was whisked away for questioning. Mr. Amar Singh told television journalists that Mr. Ali was a worker of the BSP. Separately, the BJP described this episode as a piece of political theatre enacted by Mr. Amar Singh to intimidate and coerce a witness before a parliamentary committee. Party spokesperson Prakash Javadekar did not offer any comment when asked why Mr. Ali turned up at Mr. Amar Singh’s residence and why Mr. Singh called the police if he wanted to intimidate or bribe the witness.

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