BJP MPs file formal plaint with Speaker

New Delhi: The three Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs who alleged they had received bribes to abstain in Tuesday's trust vote, have lodged a formal complaint with Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee.

The BJP yesterday said it had not yet approached the police on the matter given the Speaker's wide-ranging powers to deal with it.

"We have lodged a joint formal complaint with the Speaker. It is now up to him to take appropriate action on the matter," said BJP leader V.K. Malhotra.

"The Speaker has wide powers to take action, so we have decided against going to the police for now. But this option is also under consideration," Malhotra said.

BJP MPs Ashok Argal, Mahavir Bhagora and Faggan Singh Kulaste sparked uproar in the Lok Sabha when they displayed wads of currency notes, alleging they had been offered Rs10 million (Dh857,867) apiece by Samajwadi Party leaders as advance for abstaining during the trust vote.

Chatterjee had on Thursday asked the three MPs to lodge a formal complaint with him.

Defamation suit

Meanwhile, a defamation suit has been filed in the Lucknow District Court against Leader of Opposition Lal Krishna Advani and the three BJP MPs, an official said yesterday.

The complainant, Kishori Lal Yadav, a former corporator of the Samajwadi Party, has filed the suit under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code.

"BJP MPs Ashok Argal, Mahavir Bhagora and Faggan Singh Kulaste fabricated a false story accusing Amar Singh of giving them the money to cross-vote in the UPA-sponsored trust motion," said Yadav.