Indian opposition party expels MPs after govt wins vote

NEW DELHI: India’s main opposition movement, the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on Wednesday expelled eight of its MPs who switched loyalties in a government confidence vote.

The vote on Tuesday was triggered by left-wing parties who withdrew their support for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s coalition government over a controversial nuclear energy agreement with the United States.

Despite a tight race, Singh’s government won with a comfortable margin amid furious opposition allegations that the coalition had bribed MPs to vote in their favour in order to see through its last year in office.

Eight BJP legislators who either abstained or voted in favour of Singh’s government have been expelled, the party said.

“All those who have violated the whip have been expelled,” opposition leader Lal Krishna Advani told a news conference.

Three BJP MPs created a furore in parliament ahead of Tuesday’s vote by waving bundles of money they alleged had been offered to them for abstaining to help the government win.

“July 22 will be remembered as a black day in the history of parliament,” Advani said.