Why did Kamlesh Kumari, Jagdish Prasad Yadav, Matbar Singh Negi, Nanak Chand, Rampal, Om Prakash, Ghanshyam, Bijender Singh, and Deshraj lose their lives? What was it that they rushed to protect four years ago?

Whether by happenstance or design, ‘Operation Duryodhan’ came at an awkward time for Parliament. On December 12, we watched appalled as the unforgiving camera caught 11 MPs taking bribes. On December 13, we watched the highest officers of Parliament paying tribute to the eight heroic individuals who sacrificed their lives to protect MPs in ’01. It is for both Houses to demonstrate that they did not die in vain.

Bribery in the legislatures is actually older than the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha themselves. In 1951, before the first General Election, complaints were heard that H.G. Mudgal had taken money from the Bombay Bullion Merchants Association. His fellow MPs wondered whether this should be referred to the Privileges Committee. Speaker G.V. Mavalankar ruled that, “A Member may behave in which the House would not like him to behave, and yet it may be argued that it is not a breach of privilege.” At the Speaker’s prompting, Jawaharlal Nehru—acting as Leader of the House—moved for Mudgal’s expulsion. On September 24, 1951, Nehru defended this saying,”...if the House does not express its will in such matters in clear, unambiguous and forceful terms, then doubts may very well arise in public mind as to whether the House is very definite about such matters or not.”

Mudgal, after first participating in the debate, submitted his resignation before the House could vote on the resolution of expulsion. An infuriated Nehru fumed that the terms of the resignation letter constituted “a contempt of this House which only aggravates his offence”. Writing to the chief ministers on October 4, the prime minister warned: “If once the reputation of our legislatures goes down, then democracy itself will be in peril... any misbehaviour should lead to enquiry and action.”

Nehru’s nightmares came true on July 28, 1993, probably the single worst day in the history of the Lok Sabha. The Narasimha Rao ministry beat the odds to survive a no-confidence motion. Rumours began flying of “suitcases” playing a role, not least with MPs from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. Three years later, the CBI filed the first FIR, against Shibu Soren, Suraj Mandal, Simon Marandi and Shailendra Mahato, other names being added to that list as more facts came up. The case eventually ended up with the Supreme Court.

On April 17, 1998, the Constitution Bench ruled that Article 105 (2) of the Constitution provided immunity to the bribe-takers. The ball was clearly in Parliament’s court. The privileges of Parliament protected errant MPs who had taken millions—Rs 50 lakh per head was the going rate rumoured. Well, then, surely it was for Parliament itself to codify those privileges once and for all, spelling out how far those privileges extended. Shamefully, it has never done anything of the sort. Indeed, Soren may even be taken back into the Union Cabinet at the next reshuffle!

I am happy that both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha have chosen to act swiftly against the errant 11 MPs caught in Operation Duryodhan. But is it enough to expel them from Parliament, perhaps even bar them from re-election for some time?

Corruption, Indira Gandhi once snapped, is a universal phenomenon. That is true. Two weeks ago, Randy “Duke” Cunningham, a Republican from California, was forced to resign his seat in the US House of Representatives after proven guilty of bribery. The difference is that losing his place is the least of Cunningham’s problems. Already stripped of his $2.5 million mansion and another $1.8 million in assets, he still faces both jail and more heavy fines. The US Congress is, argubly, the world’s most powerful legislative body, an entity whose decisions are of global import. Yet there is no question of extending the aegis of parliamentary privilege over sinning members. Unfortunately, parliamentary democracies fare far worse in comparison.

Eleven years ago a media sting similar to ‘Operation Duryodhan’ revealed that British MPs were willing to table questions for a price. The resulting inquiry committee of the House of Commons reached the conclusion that: “the offer of payment to table a question is not of the same character as the offer of payment for a Member’s vote, and does not seem to fall into the definition of bribery”. The committee did, however, concede that such activity could be “damaging to the standing and reputation of Parliament”.

The 11 notorious MPs are certain to be expelled. But there will be an element of black comedy in watching Shibu Soren solemnly vote to condemn fellow MPs for bribery. I am not quite sure which lesson shall be remembered, the expulsion of 11 MPs who accepted a few thousands, or the rehabilitation of those who allegedly took lakhs!