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Bengal CM reiterates allegation against Pranab Mukherjee

West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu today reiterated his earlier statement in the assembly that four Left Front MLAs were bribed by Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee during his Rajya Sabha election from the state in 1993.

Replying to a privilege motion brought against him by Congress legislator Sudip Bandopadhyay for making "derogatory remarks against members of the House, implying that some of them had taken bribes from Mukherjee to vote for him during his Rajya Sabha election."

Though he mentioned Mukherjee's -- who is not a member of the assembly -- name without any ulterior motive Basu said he stood by his statement.

"I still want to know who they were and how they were bribed, which is unprecedented in the history of Left parties," Basu said as Opposition members shouted slogans.

"I urge the speaker to bring back the ballot box of the said election if possible, and open it in the House to find out who were the culprits... They must be disqualified," Basu asserted.

Earlier initiating the discussion on the motion, Sudip Bandopadhyay, Opposition leader Atish Sinha and his party colleague Saugata Roy demanded that the matter must either be referred to the House privilege committee or that the chief minister must apologise for making such "wild allegations".

Subrata Mukherjee of the Congress also threatened to take the matter to court. Among others, veteran legislator Gyan Singh Sohan Pal urged the speaker to uphold the dignity of the House by referring the matter to the privileges committee.

Left Front chief whip Robin Mondal protested against the motion and said it was against the ethics of the Left parties to bring such a motion and called for its withdrawal.

After the House witnessed noisy scenes, including a brawl among Congress and Revolutionary Socialist Party legislators, the speaker disallowed the motion, saying the matter which was referred by the chief minister, took place during the last West Bengal assembly, the eleventh, and this could not be discussed in the 12th incarnation of the House.

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