New Delhi, Dec 6 (IANS): Rajya Sabha witnessed chaos and verbal face-off on Friday morning, following the ‘recovery’ of bundle of currency notes from seat no 222, belonging to Abhishek Manu Singhvi, the Congress MP from Telangana.

The controversy broke out after House chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar informed the House that a wad of currency notes was “recovered from seat 222, presently allotted to Abhishek Manu Singhvi,” during the routine anti-sabotage security check, before closing hours of the Rajya Sabha on December 5.

Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi has demanded a thorough probe into the incident. He also shared that out of 33 minutes he spent in Parliament on Thursday, the majority of this time was spent in canteen with SP MP Awadesh Prasad.

Shockingly, the SP MP has outrightly dismissed Singhvi's claim that he spent time with the Congress MP having lunch in the canteen.

"Yesterday, I did not have lunch in Parliament. I ate my lunch at home and then came here. I sit in the Lok Sabha, not the Rajya Sabha. Nothing of this sort happened. I did not have lunch with him," he said.

Several Parliamentarians have reacted to the issue, with most expressing shock and demanding a detailed probe into the incident.

BJP MP Ravi Kishan remarked, "This is a criminal offence and a matter that requires investigation. In the country's largest Panchayat (Parliament), bundles of cash were discovered. Why were they in the House? What was their purpose? Everything has been captured on camera, truth will soon come to light."

BJP lawmaker Manoj Tiwari also reacted to the incident saying, "I am deeply shocked. The Parliament is the temple of democracy, and such a large amount of money is neither required nor appropriate there. Bundles of cash have been discovered from a Congress leader. When we leave our seats, they are checked. Even if I forgot something, like I did forget my phone, I was immediately informed."

"In Jharkhand, too, a large amount of money was found at the house of a Congress leader. The extent of Congress's black money is immeasurable," he added.

Rajya Sabha MP Kartikey Sharma remarked, "This is a very unfortunate incident that occurred in Parliament. Such a bundle of cash was found, and no one has claimed it. A thorough investigation should be conducted. This is a serious matter of concern as it sends the wrong message to the public and the youth."

BJP RS MP Sudhanshu Trivedi also reacted to the incident saying, "As the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha began, an inappropriate incident occurred where a bundle of cash was discovered with a Congress leader. No one came forward to claim it, which shows that they are so wealthy they don't even care to retrieve the money. The Congress party must answer for this."

BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari stated, "The Congress Party is the origin of corruption. They hold the Constitution in their hands, but they carry black money in their pockets."

"The Congress Party must answer for this. Are these bundles of cash part of a money trail? Has the Congress Party panicked? If this matter is investigated to its roots, more might be revealed," he added.

Reacting to the incident BJP leader Dinesh Sharma remarked, "If such an incident occurs and cash bundles are found, it should be discussed openly. However, to hide the truth, the opposition resorts to shouting and disrupting the proceedings daily. This negative behaviour characterizes the INDIA bloc, which seems aimless and consistently hinders productive discussions in the House."

Meanwhile, Congress lawmakers have strongly protested against the disclosure of Singhvi's name in the cash wads controversy. Mallikarjun Kharge, the LoP in Rajya Sabha strongly objected to 'inappropriate and scandalous' move of naming Singhvi in the case and said that this could been done after complete investigation.

Congress MP Imran Masood, speaking to newsmen outside the Parliament, questioned government's intentions behind the move to make his name public, before the probe was completed.