Amid cash row in Rajya Sabha, Abhishek Singhvi seeks CCTV footage

Rajya Sabha Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi on Friday expressed astonishment over the controversy regarding the discovery of a wad of currency notes from his seat in the Rajya Sabha.

Reacting to the allegations, Singhvi stated that he was hearing about it for the first time and was surprised by the claims.

The controversy has sparked a political debate, with some questioning the circumstances surrounding the alleged incident. Singhvi's response suggests that he has no knowledge or involvement in the matter, and he has not offered any further details to clarify the situation.

This statement has drawn attention and raised questions about the veracity of the claims, as well as the circumstances surrounding the alleged incident.

Singhvi said, "I just arrived at Parliament and heard this amusing and absurd claim about an hour ago. I believe there should be a rule that every seat is enclosed in a glass box with a locker, allowing Members of Parliament to secure their seats whenever they leave. This would prevent anyone from placing items like marijuana or money on the seats... Yesterday, I was in the House for only three minutes. I arrived at 12.57 pm, and the session adjourned at 1.00 pm. I had lunch with (YSR Congress Party.MP) Alla Ayodhya Rami Reddy and then returned to court."

He has also called for a thorough investigation and examination of the CCTV footage to get to the bottom of the matter. The MP added that he carries only Rs 500 in his purse.

As the controversy spiralled, Singhvi said it was bizarre that 'politics' was being created on issues such as this and clarified that he carries only one Rs 500 note when he goes to the Rajya Sabha.

Chaos broke out in the Rajya Sabha on Friday morning after chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar informed the House that a wad of currency notes was recovered by security officials during an anti-sabotage check on Thursday.

The wad of notes was recovered from seat no 222, the one allotted to Singhvi, the Congress MP from Telangana. Sharing details of his stay in the Parliament on Thursday, the MP said, "I am quite astonished to even hear about it. I never heard of it. I reached the inside of the House yesterday at 12.57 P.M. The House rose at 1 P.M. From 1 to 1.30 P.M., I sat with Ayodhya Prasad in the canteen and had lunch. At 1.30 P.M., I left Parliament. So my total stay in the House yesterday was three minutes and my stay in the canteen was 30 minutes.

“I find it bizarre that politics is being created even on such issues,” he added.

The Congress MP also called for a detailed probe into the incident, including the scanning of all CCTV footage to identify the culprit. “Of course, there must be an enquiry as to how people can come and put anything anywhere on any seat. It means that each of us must have a seat where the seat itself can be locked and the key can be carried home by the MP because anybody can then do things on the seat and make allegations about it,” he added.

He also demanded that security agencies be brought under the lens to investigate the failure on their part. “Everybody should cooperate in getting to the bottom of this and if there is a failing on the part of security agencies that must also be completely exposed," he stated.

However, Rajya Sabha leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge said the chairman should not have named the member without an investigation being completed, while leader of the House J.P. Nadda accused the Opposition of showing eagerness on "some issues" while wanting to cover up other issues.

With agency inputs