Click to play videoNew Delhi: Moni Kumar Subba, the Congress MP from Tezpur, is a Nepali citizen who for 16 years has fooled authorities in India and managed to set up a business empire and hold public office in this country.
The testimonies of his relatives and friends confirm that Subba is a Nepalese citizen and documents with CNN-IBN show that he has lied about his age, place of birth and education.
Over the years, there have been allegations that Subba was convicted in Nepal and was imprisoned from 1971 to 1973 before he escaped to India.
After settling down in India, Subba set up a successful gambling and lottery business and systematically erased his Nepali past. He first became an MLA in Assam and is now serving his second term in Parliament.
The Supreme Court, while hearing a petition challenging Subba’s claim to be an Indian, has given him time till April 20 to prove his Indian nationality. However, what's most embarrassing is that for close to three decades, he has held several high profile posts in the Government.
Just how did Subba hoodwink the law enforcing agencies and is there any premium on who is an Indian citizen in our country were some of the issues discussed by a panel comprising BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad and senior Congress leader and Supreme Court lawyer R K Anand.
On fellow MP Subba
When asked if, as a Parliamentarian, he would now refuse to recognise an MP as Subba, BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “As a Parliamentarian and a political activist, I am embarrassed and hang my head in shame over the quality of Parliamentarians.”
While agreeing with Prasad that the revelations were indeed a matter of shame, Congress leader R K Anand pointed out, “When a person is held up in a corruption case, like Bangaru Laxman is, where was the BJP at that time?”
“The matter is pending in the Supreme Court. They have to go into the details and then come to a conclusion whether Subba is an Indian citizen or not,” said Anand.
Should Subba be sacked?
If one is to go by official records, Subba was born thrice—in 1946, 1951 and in 1958—and at three places: Tezpur, Darjeeling and Mongolpuri, Delhi.
There have also been allegations that Subba was, in fact, a murder convict in Nepal, and he was imprisoned from 1971 to 1973 before he escaped to India. In light of the evidence against him, does Subba not deserve to be an MP anymore?
Prasad agreed that such violations should not be tolerated and strict action should be taken against the offenders. ”I would expect the Honourable Speaker to take cognisance of the conclusive report and refer the matter suo moto to the privilege committee. The Supreme Court has already stated that Parliament can take cognisance,” he said.
He argued that being a citizen was a pre-condition for being an MP and since Subba did not qualify, he deserved to be sacked immediately.
“The matter may be in the Supreme Court, but that does not injunct the Parliamentary Privilege Committee from taking notice of it and proceeding accordingly because Parliament is Supreme,” Prasad said.
Is the verification of public servants taken seriously?
The revelations about Subba’s credentials has also raised doubts about the role of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which claimed it did not have enough evidence.
Considering the fact that Parliamentarians have a great responsibility to shoulder and accountability towards the nation, do the investigating agencies really take their verification seriously?
While terming the CBI as one of the “most dishonest” body, Anand said, “I think that the CBI has been behaving in the same manner as it did when the NDA was in power.” He added, “The question is not about an individual, but about the purity of elections, about ethics in Parliament and about the entry system into Parliament”.
Prasad agreed: “I am deeply embarrassed by the role of the CBI. After all, it was a serious case in the sense that a person, who was a member of the top most body of the nation, his citizenship was under cloud.” He also alluded that the CBI may have been under political pressure considering it has “good investigators”.
Subba has also been a member of the consultative committee on home affairs and the CBI’s functioning comes under that very committee. How was it then possible for investigative agencies and the political fraternity to have turned a blind eye to something so serious for over three decades?
The Final Word
As Anand points out - Is it not the responsibility of all the political parties to cleanse the democratic system of the country? He said that the best way to resolve the matter is: “Before Parliament takes up the issue, the man should come forward and say - I want to get out of Parliament.”
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