BJP slams UPA, expels 8 rebel MPs

Cracking the whip on Members of Parliament who defied the party in Parliament, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday expelled eight Lok Sabha members, who bailed out the United Progressive Alliance government either by cross-voting or remaining absent during voting in the confidence motion.

                                             Also Read: 15 MPs cross-vote, BJP leads the pack

"We have expelled eight MPs who either cross-voted or abstained during the trust vote," BJP president Rajnath Singh told reporters after a meeting of senior party leaders at  leader of Opposition L K Advani's residence.

While four MPs were expelled for voting in favour of the government in the trust vote in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, four others faced the action for remaining absent. The expelled Lok Sabha members are Brijbhushan Sharan Singh (Balrampur), Manjunath (Dharwad), Chandrabhan Singh (Damoh), H T Sangliana (Bangalore North), Manorama (Udipi), Haribhav Madhav (Jalgaon), Babubhai Katara (Dohad) and Sombhai Patel (Surendranagar).

"But for cross-voting and abstentions, the UPA would not have won. This government was formed with the help of tainted people who were included in the ministry...This is a tainted victory," Advani said.

The BJP leader termed the UPA victory as 'tainted' and congratulated the three BJP MPs for standing up against 'political corruption' by exposing brazen attempts to buy them out and vote in favour of the government.

Advani was referring to three party MPs -- Ashok Argal, Mahavir Bhagora and Fagan Singh Kulste -- who showed wads of money in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, claiming that a Samajwadi Party leader tried to bribe them to abstain from the vote.

                                                 Also Read: Bribe money allegations rock Lok Sabha

On being asked whether he would prefer a Joint Parliamentary Committee to look into the 'cash-gate' scandal, the senior BJP leader answered in the negative and said the Lok Sabha Speaker should go in for a detailed enquiry.

Asked about Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's remark that Advani should change his astrologers, he said, "When did the PM develop interest in astrology?"

He also noted that it would not be that easy for the government to sail through till elections.

                                                         Also Read: The Trust Vote