Chhatrapal Singh Lodha

Chhatrapal Singh Lodha
Minister of State in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers
In office
29 January 2003 – 16 March 2004
Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee
MinisterSukhdev Singh Dhindsa
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
In office
2 July 2004 – 18 December 2005
Succeeded byBhagirathi Majhi
ConstituencyOdisha
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office
1991–2004
Preceded bySarwar Hussain
Succeeded byKalyan Singh
ConstituencyBulandshahr
Member of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly
In office
1980–1985
Preceded byArif Mohammad Khan
Succeeded byImtiaz Mohammad Khan
ConstituencySyana
Personal details
Born (1946-01-01) 1 January 1946 (age 78)
Bigroun, Bulandshahr district
Political partyBharatiya Janata Party
Spouse
Urmila Devi
​
(m. 1967)​
Children4 sons, 1 daughter
Parents
  • Bhagwant Singh (father)
  • Naryne Devi (mother)
EducationBachelor of Ayurveda, Medicine and Surgery
Alma materMasth Nath Ayurvedic Mahavidyalaya, Rohtak (Haryana)
ProfessionMedical Practitioner, Politician

Chhatrapal Singh Lodha is an Indian politician of the Bharatiya Janata Party elected as Rajya Sabha MP from Orissa. He has also served 4 times as Lok Sabha MP of Bulandshahr from 1991 to 2004.[1][2]

He was one of the accused in the 2005 cash-for-question scandal. In a sting operation named Operation Duryodhana, the media firm Cobrapost caught him on camera accepting a bribe of 15,000 rupees (about US$350) for asking concocted questions in Parliament.[3]

Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha Bhairon Singh Shekhawat asked the Ethics Committee to probe the allegations against Chhatrapal and within 48 hours the panel found the reason for his suspension.[4] As a result, he was expelled from the Rajya Sabha.[5]

His name also figured in the Operation Chakravyuha which accused seven members of parliament including Chhatrapal of seeking kickbacks for getting projects sanctioned under the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS).[4]

  1. ^ "Member Profile: 13th Lok Sabha". Lok Sabha. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  2. ^ "Meet 11 people's representatives who are in question". Dnaindia.com. 12 December 2005. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  3. ^ "It's Question Hour, People". Outlookindia.com. 26 December 2005. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  4. ^ a b Bhattarcharjya, Satarupa (2 January 2006). "INDIA TODAY - The most widely read newsweekly in South Asia". Archives.digitaltoday.in. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  5. ^ "Cash-for-query: 11 tainted MPs expelled | India News - Times of India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 24 December 2005. Retrieved 27 May 2018.