Speaker Somnath Chatterjee has been flooded with letters and e-mails supporting the decision to expel the 11 MPs caught in the cash-for-questions scandal. That is perhaps one reason why he is willing stand by the decision, come what may.
He told PTI on Sunday, “According to me, the courts have no jurisdiction at all in the matter. Any order is not binding. I am not surrendering or submitting to the jurisdiction of the courts on this issue at all.” Some of the tainted MPs have approached the courts, challenging their expulsion. The matter is listed for Monday in the Delhi High Court. “In this matter, under the Constitution, Parliament is the supreme authority,” Chatterjee said.
And with support pouring in from all over the country, the speaker can take a bolder position on the matter, if he wants.
“Just expelling them is not enough,’’ wrote Brigadier S.N. Iyer, describing himself as a “saddened citizen of a corrupt country”. S.S. Khushwaha, a senior citizen from Allahabad, said the 11 MPs must be banned from seeking election in future.
There were suggestions that the benefits enjoyed by the tainted lot be withdrawn. Yet another e-mail wanted more sting operations against the corrupt.
There were suggestions that the benefits enjoyed by the tainted lot be withdrawn. Yet another e-mail wanted more sting operations against the corrupt.