Cash for votes: arrest me too, Advani tells house

Both houses of Parliament had to be adjourned on the last day of the monsoon session today, with the opposition led by the Bharatiya Janata Party raising a clamour for discussion of the cash-for-votes scandal, in which UP politician Amar Singh and two former BJP MPs were jailed on Tuesday.

Senior BJP leader L K Advani created a sensation in the Lok Sabha by daring the government to arrest him too, saying he was fully aware of the 'sting' operation conducted by his party in July 2008 against the ruling UPA government.

Two former BJP MPs - Faggan Singh Kulaste and Mahavir Singh Bhagora - have also been sent to jail in the case.

During a no-confidence motion against the government triggered by the Left parties withdrawing support to the UPA in 2008 over the civillian nuclear agreement with the US, three BJP members had waved wads of currency in the house, saying it had been given by the UPA as bribes to its MPs to vote in its favour.

Advani had given a notice for suspension of question hour in the Lok Sabha to discuss the new developments in the case. A similar notice was given in the Rajya Sabha by BJP member Ravi Shankar Prasad.

When the Lok Sabha met for the day, Advani stood up and raised his hand for permission to speak. When the chair did not allow it, BJP members, along with their NDA allies, protested. Similar scenes were witnessed in the Rajya Sabha as well.