SP MLA cries in House, says ₹10L stolen from him

LUCKNOW : The state assembly witnessed an unusual situation on Monday as a Samajwadi Party legislator burst into tears, saying ₹10 lakh belonging to him was stolen and if it was not recovered, he would give up his life. Crying loudly in the assembly, Kalpnath Paswan, who represents Azamgarh’s Mehnagar, raised the matter during Zero Hour and said no FIR had been registered in this connection.

LUCKNOW : The state assembly witnessed an unusual situation on Monday as a Samajwadi Party (SP) legislator burst into tears, saying Rs 10 lakh belonging to him was stolen and if it was not recovered, he would give up his life.

Crying loudly in the assembly, Kalpnath Paswan, who represents Azamgarh’s Mehnagar, raised the matter during Zero Hour and said no FIR had been registered in this connection. He urged the government to recover the amount.

“I am pleading with folded hands in the House. Where should I go, if I do not get justice from here. I will die...I am a very poor person...If my money is not recovered I will commit suicide," he said.

“I have not seen such a big sum in my life. I took out Rs 10 lakh in two instalments of Rs 5 lakh each from my bank account in Lucknow for construction of the roof of my house. After taking out the sum, I left for Azamgarh,” he said.

He said, “As a vehicle was taking time to reach the village, I checked in at a hotel. The hotel manager requested me to have a cup of tea and gave my briefcase to somebody for keeping the same safe. I requested him not to take away the brief case. I continued to request the hotel management to return my Rs 10 lakh. My FIR has not been registered.”

Leader of opposition Ram Gobind Chaudhary had urged speaker Hridaya Narayan Dikshit to allow the member to raise the issue in the house.

Parliamentary affairs minister Suresh Khanna said the member had met him in this regard earlier and he had spoken to the home secretary and the Azamgarh district police chief to take action. Khanna said he would seek a report from the police and inform the house. He said he was concerned about the issue and appropriate action would be taken to ensure that the money was recovered. He would also see to it that the FIR was lodged, the minister said.