New Delhi: Tihar jail's newest high-profile prisoner is Amar Singh, behind bars in the cash-for-votes scam. Mr Singh is in judicial custody till September 19. However, Judge Sangita Dhingra Sehgal will hear his plea for interim bail on today afternoon.
Political parties are seeking a wider probe so all those responsible are brought to book.
"The case is in the courts. We can't say anything on it yet. What can we do? They have said that MPs went to his house. We don't know whether the allegations are true or not," senior lawyer Ram Jethmalani said.
"He is a very interesting man, a good friend. He will never do something like this. Never," Jethmalani added.
Amar Singh, the big wheeler dealer of Indian Politics, was arrested in connection with the cash-for-votes scam on Tuesday.
The evidence against Mr Singh includes detailed phone records that establish he was in regular contact with Sanjeev Saxena, his assistant, who negotiated with the trio of BJP MPs. Mr Singh tried to deny that Mr Saxena was his aide; the police, however, found several letters written by Mr Singh where he referred to Mr Saxena as his assistant. The car that delivered the money to the MPs belonged to Mr Singh as well. "This is circumstantial evidence," dismissed Mr Singh's lawyers today.
But after Amar Singh's arrest, uncomfortable questions over Manmohan Singh's victory in the 2008 confidence vote have returned to haunt the UPA. His arrest has reopened the key question: Who was the ultimate beneficiary of the cash-for-votes scam?
In July 2008, the Left pulled out of the UPA government over Dr Singh's civil nuclear deal with America. 62 MPs therefore exited the government. Dr Singh had to prove he had a majority. On July 22, hours before the trust vote, three BJP MPs arrived in the Lok Sabha brandishing wads of notes. A crore is what they said it added upto, describing it as an advance from Mr Singh delivered through middlemen. The MPs - Ashok Argal, Faggan Kulaste and Mahavir Bhagora - said the deal struck with them was for three crores each; they just had to ensure they abstained during the vote. Mr Argal is still an MP; the other two are not, and were arrested today along with Mr Singh.
The BJP says it's time for Mr Singh to reveal the names of those he represented. The beneficiaries were the Prime Minister and his government, said both the Left and the BJP today, demanding that the PM now explain why Mr Singh went to such great lengths to help the UPA. "It's the scandal of the century," said the BJP's Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
The cash-for-votes scam as it is known has two leading roles. On one hand, there's Mr Singh who has been accused of bribing three BJP MPs and has been charged with abetment and criminal conspiracy under the Prevention of Corruption Act. According to the Delhi Police, Mr Singh walked into a trap carpentered by Sudheendra Kulkarni, who was an advisor to senior BJP leader LK Advani in 2008. Mr Kulkarni, according to the police's chargesheet, fancied himself as a whistleblower who decided to expose the UPA government's willingness to buy support for its trust vote. So he enlisted three MPs to market themselves to potential political buyers. Mr Singh allegedly rose to the occasion. Mr Kulkarni has also been chargesheeted for "inducement" of bribes and corruption.
Political parties are seeking a wider probe so all those responsible are brought to book.
"The case is in the courts. We can't say anything on it yet. What can we do? They have said that MPs went to his house. We don't know whether the allegations are true or not," senior lawyer Ram Jethmalani said.
"He is a very interesting man, a good friend. He will never do something like this. Never," Jethmalani added.
Amar Singh, the big wheeler dealer of Indian Politics, was arrested in connection with the cash-for-votes scam on Tuesday.
The evidence against Mr Singh includes detailed phone records that establish he was in regular contact with Sanjeev Saxena, his assistant, who negotiated with the trio of BJP MPs. Mr Singh tried to deny that Mr Saxena was his aide; the police, however, found several letters written by Mr Singh where he referred to Mr Saxena as his assistant. The car that delivered the money to the MPs belonged to Mr Singh as well. "This is circumstantial evidence," dismissed Mr Singh's lawyers today.
But after Amar Singh's arrest, uncomfortable questions over Manmohan Singh's victory in the 2008 confidence vote have returned to haunt the UPA. His arrest has reopened the key question: Who was the ultimate beneficiary of the cash-for-votes scam?
In July 2008, the Left pulled out of the UPA government over Dr Singh's civil nuclear deal with America. 62 MPs therefore exited the government. Dr Singh had to prove he had a majority. On July 22, hours before the trust vote, three BJP MPs arrived in the Lok Sabha brandishing wads of notes. A crore is what they said it added upto, describing it as an advance from Mr Singh delivered through middlemen. The MPs - Ashok Argal, Faggan Kulaste and Mahavir Bhagora - said the deal struck with them was for three crores each; they just had to ensure they abstained during the vote. Mr Argal is still an MP; the other two are not, and were arrested today along with Mr Singh.
The BJP says it's time for Mr Singh to reveal the names of those he represented. The beneficiaries were the Prime Minister and his government, said both the Left and the BJP today, demanding that the PM now explain why Mr Singh went to such great lengths to help the UPA. "It's the scandal of the century," said the BJP's Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
The cash-for-votes scam as it is known has two leading roles. On one hand, there's Mr Singh who has been accused of bribing three BJP MPs and has been charged with abetment and criminal conspiracy under the Prevention of Corruption Act. According to the Delhi Police, Mr Singh walked into a trap carpentered by Sudheendra Kulkarni, who was an advisor to senior BJP leader LK Advani in 2008. Mr Kulkarni, according to the police's chargesheet, fancied himself as a whistleblower who decided to expose the UPA government's willingness to buy support for its trust vote. So he enlisted three MPs to market themselves to potential political buyers. Mr Singh allegedly rose to the occasion. Mr Kulkarni has also been chargesheeted for "inducement" of bribes and corruption.
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