A piquant situation arose in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly when Samajwadi Party MLA from Mehnagar constituency in Azamgarh district, Kalpnath Paswan, broke down and threatened to end his life, saying that someone had stolen Rs 10 lakh from him and the police had not even registered an FIR.
“I am a poor man. I have never seen such a big amount in my life. Someone stole Rs 10 lakh that I was carrying in a suitcase for the construction of my house. I went to the police but they did not register an FIR. I will commit suicide if I do not get my money back,” a sobbing Paswan said as the shocked members tried to console him on Monday.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Khanna said that he would look into the matter and ensure that the legislator got back his stolen cash.
The SP MLA said that he had withdrawn Rs 5 lakh twice from his SBI Vidhan Sabha branch account on December 19 and 20 and the next day he went to Azamgarh by bus and carried the money in his suitcase.
“When I reached the bus station, I called my son to come and take me to my home in my native village which is 30 km from the bus station. While waiting for my son, I went to a hotel and ordered tea. The hotel owner asked me to sit inside the office and asked his employee to carry my suitcase to the office. After having tea, I stepped out of the office and found the cash missing from the suitcase,” Paswan said, sobbing bitterly.
Paswan said that he had been running from pillar to post for the last month and a half to get an FIR registered so that he could get his money back.
“I am a poor man. By the grace of Hanumanji, I became a legislator. If I do not get my money back, I will end my life,” he said.