MPLADs needs cleaning up: Oppn

In the backdrop of a sting operation exposing seven MPs in the MPs Local Area Development Scheme scandal, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterj...

In the backdrop of a sting operation exposing seven MPs in the MPs Local Area Development Scheme scandal, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee tonight held a high-powered dinner meeting with top leaders of the ruling party and the Opposition in presence Vice-President and Rajya Sabha chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

In the two-hour long meeting, which was attended by NDA chairperson and former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Leader of the House and Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Lok Sabha Opposition leader L K Advani, it was impressed upon the executive that the MPLAD scheme needs 8216;8216;cleaning up8217;8217;.

The scheme was introduced during Prime Minister Narasimha Rao8217;s tenure through an executive order. Therefore, it requires a executive decision8212;and parliamentary8212;to either 8216;scrap8217; or 8216;revamp8217; the scheme.

Though the government side heard out the Speaker8217;s and the Opposition8217;s view, sources said, it did not indicate any willingness to do away with the scheme.

While Advani suggested that the MPLADs scheme be scrapped and the massive development funds be converted into a corpus for state funding of elections, sources said, Speaker Chatterjee conveyed to the government the majority opinion was not favourable towards the scheme.

Tonight8217;s meeting was significant as this was the first time that the Speaker has directly conveyed his misgivings about the MPLAD scheme to the Executive and impressed upon the Prime Minister and UPA chairperson the need to remodel the mode of allocation and spending pattern of the fund.

Sources said though he emphasised the need to allocate for funds development of constituencies, he underlined that the funds should directly go to district planning boards.

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Responding to the Samajwadi Party8217;s leader in Parliament Ram Gopal Yadav8217;s letter to the Speaker urging him to call an all-party meeting to evolve a consensus to scrap the MPLAD scheme as it was bringing disrepute to Parliament, Chatterjee has called a meeting at 3 pm tomorrow.