The Rajya Sabha Tuesday suspended its Member Chhattrapal Singh Lodha (Bharatiya Janata Party) on the recommendation of the Ethics Committee, which is inquiring into a TV channel expose showing members of Parliament allegedly accepting bribes for asking questions in the House on various issues.
The committee, which was referred the matter Monday by Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Tuesday presented its interim report, which was accepted by voice vote in the House.
Reading the report, the committee's Chairman Dr Karan Singh said the committee, taking serious note of the incident which has damaged the image of Parliament, has recommended suspension of Lodha till the completion of the inquiry.
The suspended member has been given 48 hours to give his explanation to the House, Dr Singh said.
Expressing pain and concern over the incident, the Rajya Sabha chairman had Monday referred the whole matter to the Ethics Committee of the House and asked it to give its report as soon as possible.
The sting operation, which the Aaj Tak channel called 'Operation Duryodhan', had allegedly caught several MPs belonging to various parties, including the Congress, BJP and the Rashtriya Janata Dal, accepting money from undercover reporters, posing as representatives of a non governmental organisation.
The videotapes of the operation were being telecast on the channel since Monday morning.
Following the expose, the parties concerned had initiated proceedings against their members caught on camera.
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