Money matters

Give a political crisis and there will be people trying to make a quick buck. Last week, a person approached the Congress leadership offering, for a sum, to get BJP MP from Chikmagalur D C Srikantappa to abstain from the trust vote. He claimed to be close to the MP8217;s family. Congress leaders soon found out that Srikantappa was not going to make it to Delhi because he was seriously ill. The self-proclaimed mediator was shooed away. As rumours also spread about MPs being offered Rs 25 crore to vote for the ruling combine, CPIM MP Mohammad Salim started getting SMSes from property dealers and investors. There was one that offered him a property in Ghaziabad; another gave him investment tips. An enraged Salim was heard cursing the ruling party for projecting such an image of MPs.