The Hindu : National : Truth is out on Zahira's flip-flop: MP

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Dec 23, 2004

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National

Truth is out on Zahira's flip-flop: MP

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, DEC. 22. The latest Tehelka expose on the alleged pay-off involving the key witness in the Best Bakery case, found an echo in Parliament this afternoon. The Congress Party was quick to seize the initiative, with its MP from Gujarat, Madhusudan Mistry raising the issue in the Lok Sabha minutes after Tehelka had gone public with its expose.

Mr. Mistry has been consistently raising issues relating to the Gujarat riots and he did so once gain with gusto. Waving a copy of the weekly, Mr. Mistry said the lid had been blown off the case and on the reasons behind the frequent changes in Zahira Sheikh's testimony. "The truth is finally out. Now the whole world knows why she has been making these flip flops."

Mr. Mistry's intervention in the midst of the discussion on the plight of farmers initially caught the Bharatiya Janata Party members unawares. However, once the import of Mr. Mistry's statement had sunk in, they were on their feet, protesting. Soon members from both sides joined the argument. Ananth Kumar and Santosh Gangawar appealed to the Chair not to allow Mr. Mistry to raise the issue while the Treasury benches contended that the member was well within his right to raise the issue.

Pawan Kumar Bansal (Congress) said there were precedents when issues of grave importance were raised in a similar manner. The matter eventually died down, after the intervention of the presiding officer, Laxmi Narain Pandey. The ruling alliance members indicated later in the evening that they would raise the issue again tomorrow. "The lid has finally been blown off, those responsible for this must be thoroughly exposed," said a senior member of the UPA alliance.

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