Click to play videoNew Delhi: A new controversy has seized Parliament. Move over Quattrocchi and Mulayam Singh Yadav, it's now MP Moni Kumar Subba and his dubious nationality's turn to take the hot seat.
The Opposition is demanding that M K Subba be sacked after CNN-IBN's Special Investigation revealed on Tuesday how he lied about his nationality to be where he is - a Congress MP from Tezpur, Assam.
What's more, not only did he lie about his place of birth, date of birth and education many times over, CNN-IBN also found out that there was a deliberate attempt to cover up all the recorded evidence of his Nepali Nationality. Subba, of course, has refuted everything revealed saying that he will file a defamation case in the Supreme Court against CNN-IBN.
The big question asked on CNN-IBN's Face The Nation was: Should Parliament take action against M K Subba?
To answer the question on the panel of experts were the man who urged the Parliament to act against Subba on Wednesday, Trinamool Congress MP, Dinesh Trivedi; and CPI-M MP, Mohammad Salim.
CPI-M is an ally of the UPA at the Centre. No one from the Congress was there on the panel as the party has gone completely silent publicly, but privately, is embarrassed at these developments.
What should be the course of action now?
Dinesh Trivedi raised the issue in Parliament on Wednesday, so what does he feel should be done now?
"When I raised the issue, I was told that Subba is a member of the Lok Sabha, so I was told that I cannot raise the issue in Rajya Sabha. So I said the other house is a part of the country and that we are talking about the security of the country. Very honestly, it is shocking and unbelievable. I still don't believe that this can happen in independent India," he said.
"We are talking about a case that is so many years old and I cannot believe that he is still an 'honourable' member of Parliament. It is most shocking," Trivedi added.
Mohammad Salim added his two bits by saying that CPI-M was not supporting the UPA because of M K Subba. He said, "We have an Election authority - the Election Commissioner and the electoral officers - who include names in the electoral roll. All the wrongdoing begins there. Subba was elected thrice, first in the Assembly and then in Parliament. Now in Parliament too, we have an Ethics Committee and a Privilege Committee. When the issue was raised, MPs wanted to know whether they should approach these committees."
I am shocked to know that after a declaration has been given to the Election Commission, no one bothered to even cross check whether everything was correct or not, especially since he has been elected thrice despite documents having been fudged," Mohd. Salim added.
It is the sovereign right of Parliament to take action against its members in cases such as this one. So can the Parliament do anything now, despite the fact that Subba is going to sue CNN-IBN in the Supreme Court?
To this Dinesh Trivedi said, "As an MP, one has many privileges. We have access to a lot of information and if there is a question mark on this gentleman, I think the least one can do first is suspend him with immediate effect from coming to Parliament. Secondly, the people who are responsible for helping Subba get where he is need to give answers. This includes the Intelligence department, the Home Ministry and the people who are supposed to be securing India."
Is the Congress party to blame for this?
Dinesh Trivedi said that he would not like to get into party politics.
"I want to mention here that there was a Vohra Committee report that speaks about the nexus between the mafia, bureaucracy and politicians for which I had gone to Supreme Court. This case is one such example of that nexus," he said.
Mohd Salim said that he felt money power was at play here. "Everyone knew him in Assam and he is popular in the Page 3 circuit in Delhi as well. The Congress has nominated him for the fourth time now and that is outrageous. The Government of India needs to take action."
Both Dinesh Trivedi and Mohd Salim agreed that this was not a media witch hunt over Subba, but a genuine concern that needs to be addressed by the Government of India.
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