Marxists mum on tainted MPs likely to vote against govt

The CPM politburo on Thursday lashed out at the Congress leadership for mobilising convicted MPs to save the government for the July 22 trust vote, accusing the ruling party of political immorality even as the Left continued to make efforts to defeat the trust vote.

“It is reported that some Lok Sabha members who have been convicted for serious crimes and who are in jail are being mobilised to support the confidence vote in Lok Sabha,” the politburo said. “While legally, they may get the right to attend Parliament and vote, there is a question of political morality involved,” it added.

The Left party has listed out the names of Madhepura MP Pappu Yadav, who has been convicted for killing a CPM MLA, Mohammed Shahabuddin, who was convicted last year in a case of kidnapping with intent to murder and Suraj Bhan, the Balia MP also convicted for murder.

The party, however, made no reference to two rebel SP MPs — Ateeq Ahmed and Afzal Ansari — who are likely to vote against the government. Asked about the two, a CPM leader said: “They are undertrials, not convicts.” Ahmed is accused of murdering BSP legislator Raju Pal in 2005. He was arrested in February this year, six months after a court declared him an absconder. But, in the current political context, he in touch with the BSP chief and is likely to vote against the government. Ansari is being tried for the murder of BJP leader Krishnanand Rai and is likely to vote in the trust vote on the same side as the BJP.

In the presidential elections of July 2007 too, in which the Left and Congress were together, MPs convicted or being tried for heinous crimes had voted. Asked about that, CPM leader Nioltpal Basu said: “Those circumstances were different. Not the same as these."