Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi responded to the charges levied on him today in the Rajya Sabha by Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar. He clarified that he only carries a single Rs.500 note to the Upper House.
“Heard of it first time now. Never heard of it till now! I carry one Rs. 500 note when I go to RS. First time heard of it. I reached inside the house at 12:57 pm yesterday and the house rose at 1 pm; then I sat in the canteen till 130 pm with Shri Ayodhya Rami Reddy then I left parliament!”
He clarified by giving detailed information about his activity and emphasized that he never carried more than one hundred rupees ever. So, defying the charges he himself said that the probe must be carried out so, that the allegations will be clear, and the real culprit will be held.
There was an uproar in the parliament when the Chairman informed about this. The opposition reacted strongly and condemned this. “I request that until the investigation is done and the authenticity of the incident is established, a member should not be named,” Kharge said.
However, there were diverse reactions to this. Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju defended the Chairman’s decision to name the member, stating there was nothing inappropriate about mentioning the seat number and its occupant. Rijiju further called for a thorough investigation while noting that bringing currency bundles into the House was unsuitable.
