How did 'less than honourable' Swamy get documents, asks Congress

A day after Rajya Sabha discussed the AgustaWestland helicopter issue, Congress member Anand Sharma on Thursday sought to know from the Government how BJP member Subramaniam Swamy had got access to sensitive and confidential files of CBI and ED in the matter.

Raising the issue through a point of order, Sharma said during the discussion on Wednesday, sensitive documents of CBI and ED were referred to.

The House "must know how an honourable member or rather less honourable member" was given access to sensitive and secret files, which he has refused to authenticate and place on the table of the House, he said.

Deputy Chairman P J Kurien said if Swamy had not complied with his ruling that all documents he was quoting must be authenticated by him and placed on the table of the House, the rule will take its own course.

"It (the ruling) has to be complied with," Kurien said, adding he had given a ruling yesterday that whatever documents are quoted should be authenticated and placed on the table.

"That has to be complied with," he said.

As Congress members protested, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi stated that Swamy had authenticated and placed the documents he had quoted on the table of the House. Swamy had taken care of issue, Naqvi said.

Earlier, Pramod Tiwari (Cong) said a TV channel was showing how government agencies were creating the pressure of religious missions to get the Gandhi family implicated.

Raising the issue through a point of order, he alleged that "some traitors are taking money from other countries to create disorder here ... and destabilise the country."

Kurien said this was not a question of point of order and disallowed. But Tiwari continued to speak on the matter, also saying that "some traitor" were working to destabilise the country. However, Kurien did not allow the issue to be taken up.