As for the demand made by senior BJP leaders that the Speaker make the tapes pertaining to the alleged scam public, Swaraj said Chatterjee had told him that the issue may be dealt with by the Deo committee.

Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha Secretariat is saddled with the unusual responsibility of guarding the Rs 1 crore, which were placed on the table of the House by three BJP members — Ashok Argal, Fagan Singh Kulaste and Mahavir Bhagora — on July 22. The money, counted by the marshal thereafter, was placed in a safe and sealed cover in the presence of the three BJP members among others.

Sources told The Indian Express the secretariat has sought the Law Ministry’s advice on what to do with the money once the Deo committee examined it as evidence. “It is something unprecedented,” they explained.