| Raja Ram Pal | |
|---|---|
| Constituency | Bilhaur |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 20 November 1960 Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh |
| Political party | INC |
| Spouse(s) | R.K.Devi |
| Children | 2 sons and 1 daughter |
| Residence | Kanpur |
| As of September 22, 2006 Source: [Parliament of India official biography] |
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Raja Ram Pal (born 20 November 1960) is an Indian politician with the Indian National Congress, and currently a member of the 15th Lok Sabha from Akbarpur (Lok Sabha constituency). Earlier, as a member of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), he had been a member of the 14th Lok Sabha from Bilhaur,[1] before being expelled on December 23, 2005, along with ten others, after the sting Operation Duryodhana. The expulsion was sub judice when the 14th Lok Sabha finished its term.
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The son of Ram Nath Pal and Rukmani Devi, Raja Ram was born in the town Sirohi and attended D.A.V. College, Kanpur. After his LLB, he joined the law profession. In 1996, he joined the BSP and was elected to the Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha, and in 2004 to the 14th Lok Sabha.
He is married to R.K. Devi.
In the sting Operation Duryodhana[2] by the Noida based media firm Cobrapost, aired December 12, 2005 on the Indian Hindi news TV Channel Aaj Tak, Raja Ram Pal was caught on video accepting bribes of Rs. 35,000 for fielding questions in parliament.
At one point, he says that the price of getting MPs to sign on to any petition is Rs. 25,000 per MP. He wants the money in advance; he underlines this with a colourful Hindi couplet:
On December 23, 2005 he was expelled from the Lok Sabha following the adoption of a motion calling for the expulsion of all 11 MPs caught in the sting.
The scam also led to Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati expelling him from the party, along with three others.[3] Subsequently he joined the Indian National Congress and was elected in the Indian general elections, 2009.