The controversy over the nationality of Congress MP MK Subba reached Parliament on Wednesday after Deputy Leader of Opposition V K Malhotra sought to raise the issue before the Lok Sabha. Earlier, a TV news channel had reported that Subba, a Member of Parliament from Assam, is not an Indian national.

As soon as the Lok Sabha met for the day, Malhotra said it’s quite surprising that a person of foreign nationality could become a Member of Parliament. However, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said no notice had been given in this regard.

In the Rajya Sabha, the matter was raised by Dinesh Trivedi of Trinamool Congress. Trivedi said the House has got the right to know as to how a “fugitive” from a neighbouring country could became an MP. He was joined by BJP member Yashwant Sinha in demanding a statement from the Government. Deputy Chairman K Rahman Khan, however, said that the issue could not be raised in the House as the concerned member belonged to the other House.

Meanwhile, the Assam Assembly also witnessed heated exchange of words between members of the Treasury and Opposition benches over the controversy. Leader of the Opposition Brindaban Goswami demanded an inquiry into the allegations.

Goswami stood up immediately after the Question Hour ended and drew the Speaker’s attention to reports appearing in a section of the local press here, which quoted a TV channel’s report on the citizenship status of the Congress MP from Assam. “This is a serious matter as it involves a Lok Sabha member from Assam, who was also a member of the state assembly few years back,” Goswami said.

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