Cash-for-votes: Ansari calls meet for peace in Rajya Sabha

NEW DELHI: With the Upper House witnessing heated exchanges between members of opposition and treasury over WikiLeaks disclosure leading to its adjournment without conducting any business on Thursday, Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari called a meeting of leaders of all political parties on Friday to discuss how proceedings should be conducted peacefully.
The need to convene such a meeting was triggered by an episode in the Upper House when BJP members, led by S S Ahluwalia, started shouting slogans — “Congress government is dishonest” —following which Congress members also came into the Well. At one point, Ahluwalia was seen embroiled in heated exchanges with RJD member Rajneeti Prasad, who wanted Rajya Sabha to conduct its business. The exchanges continued despite the repeated pleas of P J Kurien, the Congress MP who was in the chair, to behave and let the House to function.
The BJP members were demanding resignation of PM over WikiLeaks – the global cyber whistleblower, which came out with secret cables stating about alleged pay-offs to MPs during trust vote in Parliament over the Indo-US nuclear deal in 2008.