RS members agitated over Subba expose

New Delhi, Mar 7 (UNI) Rajya Sabha members were agitated for quite a while over reports that Moni Kumar Subba, the Congress MP from Tezpur, is a Nepali citizen who for 16 long years dodged Indian authorities.

As soon as the House assembled for the day, members from the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Samajwadi Party and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) criticised the Central Bureau of Investigation, the country's premier probing agency.

A private satellite channel yesterday broke the story of Subba, who managed to set up a business empire and hold public office in the country. It showed testimonies of his relatives and friends who confirmed that Subba is a Nepalese citizen.

The channel beamed documents that he has lied about his age, place of birth and education. Over the years, there have been allegations that Subba was convicted in Nepal and imprisoned from 1971 to 1973 before he escaped to India.

After settling down in India, Subba set up a successful gambling and lottery business and systematically erased his Nepali past. He first became an MLA in Asom and is now serving his second term in Parliament, said the channel.

The Supreme Court, while hearing a petition challenging Subba's claim to be an Indian, has given him time till April 20 to prove his Indian nationality. But for close to three decades, he has held several high-profile posts in the government, it said.

UNI