New Delhi, March 19 Without taking business tycoon and Rajya Sabha member Subhash Chandra name in the Rajya Sabha, Chairman of the House M. Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday directed the members not to exploit the name of the House to avoid probe by law enforcement agencies.
The Enforcement Directorate has summoned Essel Group chairman Subhash Chandra to join the investigation on March 18 in a money laundering case in the Yes Bank probe. As many as 44 companies belonging to 10 large business groups reportedly accounted for bad loans of Rs 34,000 crore of Yes Bank.
But Chandra, a Rajya Sabha MP from Haryana, did not appear before the probing agency citing the ongoing Budget session.
Without taking Essel Group chairman's name, Naidu said: "I would like to make a mention that no member of the House should avoid appearing before any investigation agency."
The chairman said when members are called to join the probe, they cite the "reason of the House duty". Naidu pointed that as a lawmaker, one is bound to respect law and the legal procedure. "It is for all in all cases. You can only inform that the House is in session and seek further date, but you cannot avoid the law enforcement agencies' summons or notices," he said.
The Chairman's remarks came after BJP member Vijay Goel said said, "The recent crisis in Yes bank and a moratorium imposed by the Reserve Bank of India highlight the need of urgent corporate governance reforms in India."
He said the financial crisis at private banks had put hard-earned money of lakhs of people at risk. "In the past we have seen changes in board of ICICI and Axis banks before the Maharashtra cooperative bank scam case surfaced. It is now known that the government has come up with a restructuring scheme for Yes Bank. We need to take urgent steps to ensure that banks do not go insolvent because of various reasons," said Goel.
On Wednesday, Chandra did not appear before the ED citing the ongoing Budget session of Parliament. He has asked for another date for questioning after the Budget session.
( With inputs from IANS )