11 MPs caught in sting op issuing letters to fake oil company

December 12, 2013 15:56

In its latest undercover investigation, codenamed Operation Falcon Claw, Cobrapost has exposed a bunch of parliamentarians willing to not only write recommendation letters but also lobby with the petroleum ministry for a foreign company to help it secure oil exploration and rigging rights in the Northeast.

In all 11 MPs from the Congress Party, the BJP, the JDU, AIADMK and BSP were reportedly caught on camera willing to help the company set up shop in India. However, none of them bothered to check the antecedents of the company or check if the company was real.

The parliamentarians who stand exposed are K Sugumar and C Rajendran from AIADMK; Lalu Bhai Patel, Ravindra Kumar Pandey and Hari Manjhi from BJP; Vishwa Mohan Kumar, Maheshwar Hazari and Bhudeo Chaudhary from JDU; Khiladi Lal Bairwa and Vikrambhai Arjanbhai from Congress; and Kaiser Jahan from BSP.

The 6 MPs allagedly gave the undercover journalists letters of recommendation in favour of Mediterranean Oil Inc for a sum ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 75,000.

'Others wont settle for less than Rs 5 lakh for a single letter, and in one case an MP quoted a ridiculously high price for a single letter, at Rs 50 lakh. There was no point giving them so much money,' Cobrapost said.

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