"The truth should come out": BJP MP Anurag Thakur on currency notes controversy

Dec 06, 2024

New Delhi, [India] December 6 : Bharatiya Janata Party's MP and former cabinet minister Anurag Thakur took a jibe at the Congress leaders after a wad of currency notes were recovered from the bench of Rajya Sabha MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi.
Thakur said that the matter is serious and that the truth should come out. Thakur said, "If the Rajya Sabha chairman has made a statement then it means the matter is serious. The truth should come out."
Thakur questioned the opposition for not raising the issue of people and further asked as to why the opposition is hindering the function of Parliament.
"Why is the opposition running away from raising the issues of the public?... Why they (the opposition) are not allowing the parliament to function?... The Government from day 1 has said that we are ready to debate on any issue and I want them (opposition) to be a part of the debate."
Earlier BJP MP Manoj Tiwari also expressed his "surprise" at the incident in the Parliament. He said, "A bundle of notes has been recovered from the bench. This is a matter of investigation. The Vice President of India has ordered an inquiry into the matter. I am surprised as to where the bundle of notes is being recovered from Congress leaders... this incident should be investigated."
Adding to the outrage, BJP MP Ravi Kishan stated, "A bundle of notes being recovered from the Parliament is a matter of investigation. This is very shocking."
Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar sparked a commotion in the upper house on Friday by announcing that a bundle of cash had been found on the seat of Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi. The cash was discovered under seat number 222, which is allocated to Singhvi, a representative of Telangana, during a routine anti-sabotage check.
In response to the RS Chairman's statement, Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that he was "astonished" to hear this, adding that if there is a failing in the security agencies that must also be completely exposed.
"I am quite astonished to even hear about it. I never heard of it. I reached the inside of the House yesterday at 12.57 pm. The House rose at 1 pm. From 1 to 1:30 pm, I sat with Ayodhya Prasad in the canteen and had lunch. At 1:30 pm, I left Parliament. So my total stay in the House yesterday was 3 minutes and my stay in the canteen was 30 minutes. I find it bizarre that even on such issues politics is raised. Of course there must be an inquiry as to how people can come and put anything anywhere in any seat. It means that each of us must have a seat where the seat itself can be locked and the key can be carried home by the MP because everybody can then do things on the seat and make allegations about this. If it was not tragic and serious it would be comical. I think everybody should cooperate in getting to the bottom of this and if there is a failing in the security agencies that must also be completely exposed," Singhvi told ANI.
The first session of the winter Parliament commenced on November 25, with both Houses getting adjourned fairly early due to disruptions. The winter session will go on till December 20.