Rajya Sabha Chairperson Bhairon Singh Shekhawat was in a piquant situation on Wednesday after some ruling coalition members demanded the House reveal the names of the two senior NDA leaders who had written to Finance Minister P Chidambaram for the withdrawal of an Ordinance to recover Rs 803 crore as excise dues. The issue raised considerable excitement during Zero Hour as members like Rajiv Shukla, Jairam Ramesh and Dipankar Gupta insisted the names of the NDA leaders be disclosed for the sake of probity and accountability.

Warning members that asking for the contents of the letter purportedly written by two senior NDA leaders would be ‘‘a double-edged sword’’ as it would open the floodgates for demands of all confidential letters on policies, Shekhawat said, ‘‘You all know I am not in favour of concealing facts. But let me warn you of the consequences of such a demand.’’