Knives were out in the Opposition camp on Wednesday a day after cross-voting and abstention by MPs helped the UPA Government sail through the trust vote. Cracking the whip, the BJP expelled eight of its MPs who cross-voted or abstained and other parties too got down to fix the MPs whose actions helped the Government survive.

•BJP: The eight expelled members were among 25 Opposition MPs who either voted for the Government or abstained or remained absent. “If there was no cross-voting, the Government would have lost the trust vote,” Advani told reporters. The Leader of Opposition said action was also being taken to seek the disqualification of the eight MPs from the Lok Sabha. The MPs expelled are Brijbhushan Sharan Singh (Balrampur), Manjunath (Dharwad), Chandrabhan Singh (Damoh), H T Sangliana (Bangalore North), Manorama Madhwaraj (Udupi), Haribhav Madhav (Jalgaon), Babubhai Katara (Dohad) and Somabhai Patel (Surendranagar). The names were announced by BJP president Rajnath Singh at a news conference.

Angry BJP workers threw crude bombs and stones at the bungalow of Chandrabhan Singh, the expelled MP from Damoh in Jabalpur on Wednesday. Singh’s bungalow in Damoh, occupied only by his staff, was also attacked late on Tuesday when it had become clear that he had abstained from voting. Armed guards have since been deployed at both the residences.

In Ahmedabad, BJP’s Gujarat president Purshottam Rupala alleged that the two suspended MPs, Patel and Katara, were bribed by the UPA.

In Bangalore, party workers vented anger over Sangliana’s decision to vote in favour of the UPA Government by attacking his office. Protestors damaged a board at the office and burnt an effigy of the MP.

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