Army Chief General VK Singh's bribery claim rocks Parliament

New Delhi: There was ruckus in Parliament on Monday over Army Chief General VK Singh's claim that he was offered bribe to clear the purchase of vehicles for the forces. BJP, AIADMK and JD(U) members displayed newspapers and walked to the well of the House in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha saying General Singh's claims were 'serious'. Following the ruckus, both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha had to be adjourned twice.

This came after General Singh, in an interview to national daily 'The Hindu' said he was offered a bribe worth Rs 14 crore by an equipment lobbyist to have a tranche of 600 sub-standard vehicles cleared for purchase. He also said he reported the matter to Defence Minister AK Antony.

The Bharatiya Janata Party had earlier given a notice for the suspension of the Question Hour. BJP leader Prakash Javadekar said, "What General VK Singh has said is a serious matter." Slamming the government over corruption, Javadekar said, " This shows the worst state of affairs in this country. The government is neck-deep in corruption."

MPs displayed newspapers carrying the report and demanded discussion on General VK Singh\'s claims in Parliament.

The BJP said it wanted to know what action that the government plans to take on General Singh's claim.

Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said, "If someone had approached General VK Singh, he should have got an FIR registered against the person."

JD(U) leader Shivanand Tiwari said, "The Army Chief should be asked if he was offered bribe, why did he not call police."

Meanwhile, the Defence Minister ordered a CBI probe into the Army Chief's claim.

In his interview General Singh had said, "One of these men had the gumption to walk up to me and tell me that if I cleared the tranche, he would give me Rs 14 crore. He was offering a bribe to me, to the Army Chief. He told me that people had taken money before me and they will take money after me."

(With additional information from PTI)

Also See

• I was offered Rs 14 crore bribe: Army Chief General VK Singh

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