Cash-for-votes: Government indeed tried to buy MPs, says BJP
November 17th, 2011 - 7:19 pm ICT by IANS
New Delhi, Nov 17 (IANS) A day after six accused in the cash-for-votes case got bail, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Thursday said the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government was indeed trying to buy votes ahead of the 2008 trust motion in parliament.
Reiterating the party stand, BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said that the former MPs of the party who were arrested in the case were only whistle-blowers.
“The Congress-led UPA government was indeed trying to purchase MPs, and we are there as whistle-blowers,” Sitharaman told reporters.
“The fact is that there is no intention of giving or taking bribe. There is no motive for giving or taking bribe…so it is very clearly indicative that they participated in a whistle-blowing operation,” she said.
Sitharaman added that the whole operation was done with the knowledge of a media house, so it proved there was no conspiracy.
Sudheendra Kulkarni, ex-advisor to former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and former BJP MPs Faggan Singh Kulaste and Mahabir Singh Bhagora, Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh’s former aide Sanjeev Saxena and alleged political activist Suhail Hindustani were given bail by the Delhi High Court Wednesday.
The high court also gave anticipatory bail to sitting BJP MP Ashok Argal, an accused in the case.
On July 22, 2008, Argal, Kulaste and Bhagora waved wads of currency notes in the Lok Sabha just hours ahead of a trust vote, alleging they were given the money to vote in favour of the Manmohan Singh government.
Saxena was accused of delivering Rs.1 crore to Kulaste, Bhagora and Argal under an alleged conspiracy to buy their votes for the Congress-led UPA government in the trust motion.
Sitharaman said that the Supreme Court judgment in the case of alleged bribing of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MPs, during a trust vote faced by the Congress-led P.V. Narasimha Rao government in 1993, said parliament was competent authority to deal with such issues.
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- Cash-for-votes: Kulkarni, four others walk out of Tihar (Lead) - Nov 17, 2011
- Police response sought on bail plea of Amar Singh's ex-aide (Lead) - Nov 09, 2011
- Government protecting corrupt ministers: Advani - Oct 03, 2011
- Cash-for-votes: Order on bail plea of five accused Nov 16 (Lead) - Nov 14, 2011
- Cash-for-votes: Bail for Kulkarni, five others (Second Lead) - Nov 16, 2011
- Cash-for-votes: BJP feliciates Kulkarni, other accused - Nov 19, 2011
- Cash-for-vote: Cops furnish CD transcripts to accused - May 26, 2012
- Cash-for-votes: Kulkarni, two BJP former MPs walk out of Tihar - Nov 17, 2011
- PM, Sonia must apologise for cash-for-votes scam: Gadkari (Lead) - Nov 20, 2011
- Court defers Hindustani's bail plea till Sep 20 - Sep 16, 2011
- Order on Amar Singh's bail Wednesday - Sep 27, 2011
- Gadkari meets jailed party colleagues in Tihar - Oct 31, 2011
- Ahmed Patel was mastermind behind cash-for-vote scam: Gadkari - Nov 18, 2011
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