LS DENIES INFORMATION ON AGENCIES’ REQUEST TO PROBE MPS

CBI has been seeking Speaker’s nod to prosecute four TMC MPS in Narada sting operation issue.

The Lok Sabha secretariat has refused to share information as to how many requests, filed by various investigative agencies seeking permission to investigate or question Members of Parliament (MPS), are pending before the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

The Sunday Guardian had filed an RTI with the Lok Sabha secretariat seeking information on the number of requests pending before the Speaker of the Lok Sabha against sitting members of the Lok Sabha by various investigating agencies to initiate criminal or civil proceedings or even for questioning the members for various reasons.

The Lok Sabha secretariat, in its response, while denying to share the information, stated “The matter falls within the jurisdiction of Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha.”

The Sunday Guardian had also filed a first appeal against this order with the Lok Sabha Secretariat.

The reply to the first appeal was received on 1July this year in which the Lok Sabha Secretariat’s Additional Secretary and Appellate Authority said, “I have gone through the RTI application, reply of the Secretariat and the First Appeal and I do not find any reason to disagree with the information given.”

It is pertinent to mention here that for the last several months, the Central Bureau of Investigation, official sources said, has been seeking sanction from the Speaker of the Lok Sabha to prosecute four Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPS for their alleged involvement in the Narada sting operation case which had come to light in 2016.

The Narada sting operation relates to the alleged corruption of TMC MPS who were caught on tape accepting money for favours from a journalist posing as a representative of a private company.

The four TMC MPS include Saugata Roy from Dum Dum, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar from Barasat, Prasun Banerjee from Howrah and Suvendu Adhikari, a former MP from Tamluk Lok Sabha constituency in West Bengal. Adhikariis currently a Minister in the Mamata Banerjee government.

According to a senior CBI official who is looking after this case, they have sought the permission from the

Lok Sabha speaker’s secretariat to investigate the MPS, but no response has been received.“we have made several requests to grant us permission to question these MPS, but we have so far not received any such clearances.as per protocol, we have to take permission from the Lok Sabha Speaker.

This has also stopped our ongoing investigation in which we were ready to file a charge-sheet,” the senior CBI officer said.