Friday, December 23 2005 18:49 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: The Lok Sabha today (Dec 23, 2005) came out in one voice to firmly deal with corruption but was divided on the issue of summary expulsion of 10 members named in the cash-for-query scam with main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) objecting to any action being taken without following proper procedure.

Moving a motion seeking the expulsion of 10 members, Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee said the members should rise to the occasion to maintain dignity of the House "as certain duties ought to be discharged, however painful they may be".

Noting that it was a very sad occasion, he said it was not a question of legality "but the question is to ask our conscience and ourselves what we should do in this given situation".

"What was telecast on December 12, all of us felt that something has to be done,"

Mukherjee said observing the whole country was looking at how the largest functional democracy of the world was going to respond to a situation which has "challenged the very essence of our presence here".

Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said it was not a "happy day" for the Chair or the entire House and asked members to ensure that the dignity of the House "under some cloud" was not lowered further.