Amar Singh to be questioned on cash-for-votes
July 20th, 2011 - 11:16 pm ICT by IANS
New Delhi, July 20 (IANS) Former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh is likely to be interrogated over the 2008 cash-for-votes controversy in parliament, police sources said Wednesday.
Amar Singh is a Rajya Sabha MP. Rajya Sabha officials, however, denied that house Chairman Hamid Ansari had given permission for Amar Singh’s questioning, saying that no such request had been received.
They said that since no request had been received, there was no question of permission being granted by the chairman.
The officials also added that there may not be a need for permission for Amar Singh’s questioning as the matter did not relate to his actions in the Rajya Sabha.
Amar Singh’s former aide, Sanjeev Saxena, arrested by Delhi Police, alleged that the then Samajwadi Party leader had provided Rs.1 crore for getting the support of three Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs in a trust vote in 2008.
Alleged middleman Suhail Hindustani, the second accused arrested Wednesday, also levelled the same allegations against Amar Singh, saying he was the “main” man behind the scandal.
Hindustani also accused Ahmed Patel, political secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, and other Congress leaders of involvement.
Bags filled with currency notes were shown in the Lok Sabha July 22, 2008, minutes before a trust vote was to take place.
Hindustani was called to a Delhi Police office for questioning and later arrested.
Saxena is understood to have told police that Amar Singh’s driver Sanjay had gone along with him to deliver the money - as claimed by BJP MPs Fagan Singh Kulaste and Mahavir Bhagora.
The two were among the three MPs who had claimed they were paid to abstain from the Lok Sabha trust vote sought by the Manmohan Singh government after the Left withdrew support over the Indo-US nuclear deal.
Saxena was caught on camera paying BJP MPs Kulaste, Bhagora and Ashok Argal bribes ahead of the confidence vote.
- Second arrest made in cash-for-votes case - Jul 20, 2011
- Cash-for-votes scam: Ex-BJP worker to be quizzed - Jul 19, 2011
- Cash-for-vote: Cops furnish CD transcripts to accused - May 26, 2012
- Cash-for-votes: BJP feliciates Kulkarni, other accused - Nov 19, 2011
- Cash-for-votes scam: Amar Singh, three others summoned - Aug 25, 2011
- Cash-for-votes middleman names Amar, Patel - Jul 20, 2011
- Cash-for-votes case: Amar Singh, five others chargesheeted - Aug 24, 2011
- Cash-for-vote scam: Congress declines comment on allegations - Jul 20, 2011
- Cash-for-votes: Kulkarni, four others walk out of Tihar (Lead) - Nov 17, 2011
- Cash-for-votes: Order on bail plea of five accused Nov 16 (Lead) - Nov 14, 2011
- Cash-for-votes: BJP MP booked; bail pleas of three put off - Oct 03, 2011
- Police response sought on bail plea of Amar Singh's ex-aide (Lead) - Nov 09, 2011
- Cash-for-vote scandal: SP, BJP MPs questioned - Jul 25, 2011
- Cash-for-votes: Court issues notice to Delhi Police (Lead) - Oct 31, 2011
- Cash-for-votes: BJP MP exempted from attending trial court (Second Lead) - Nov 01, 2011
Tags: amar singh, argal, confidence vote, congress leaders, congress president sonia gandhi, currency notes, delhi police, hamid ansari, Lok Sabha, mahavir, manmohan singh, nuclear deal, police office, police sources, political secretary, rajya sabha, s driver, Samajwadi Party, suhail, trust vote