Press Statement
The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:
It is reported that some of the Lok Sabha members who have been convicted for serious crimes and who are in jail are being mobilized to support the confidence vote in the Lok Sabha.
There are three such members:
1. Rajiv Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav has been convicted for the murder of Ajit Sarkar, CPI(M) MLA. He has been sentenced to life imprisonment.
2. Mohd. Shahabuddin has been convicted in a case of kidnapping with intent to murder. He has been sentenced to life imprisonment. He is also facing charges in the case of the murder of Chandrasekar, a former President of the JNU Students Union and a CPI(ML) leader.
3. Suraj Bhan has been convicted in a case of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.
While legally they may get the right to attend parliament and vote there is a question of political morality involved. The Congress leadership will be seen by the entire country as taking recourse to convicted criminals for sustaining their government.