Politician Amar Singh will be interrogated by the Delhi Police today over his alleged role in the cash-for-votes scam as vital evidence has surfaced connecting him to the episode.
The scam exploded hours ahead of the trust vote on July 22, 2008, when three BJP MPs - Ashok Argal, Faggan Singh Kulaste and Mahavir Bhagora - walked into the Lok Sabha waving bundles of cash. At that time, Singh was a senior leader of the Samajwadi Party which was an ally of the UPA coalition at the Centre. The police will investigate allegations that he provided the money offered to the three BJP MPs.
The Prime Minister survived that trust vote. But a parliamentary committee was set up to study the BJP's allegations that three of its MPs were offered a crore to vote for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The committee also asked the Delhi Police to investigate the matter.
Two men have been arrested in connection with the scam since Sunday. One of them - Sanjeev Saxena - describes himself as a former aide of Amar Singh. Hidden cameras provided by a TV channel reportedly show Mr Saxena offering money to the BJP MPs. The cameras were provided by a private TV channel which had been asked, reportedly by the BJP, to conduct an expose on the UPA's attempts to bribe MPs for the trust vote.
Mr Singh has said that he did not know Mr Saxena well. But Mr Saxena has told the police that Mr Singh provided the one crore that was intended to buy the support of the three mps. The MPs have also told the police that Mr Saxena introduced himself as Mr Singh's secretary.
The Delhi Police is now examining a letter written by Amar Singh to help Mr Saxena's son get admission in a college. The letter clearly introduces Saxena as his secretary. Phone records accessed by NDTV also show that six calls were made from to Mr Saxena's cellphone to Mr Singh's residence barely 24 hours before the trust vote began. The police are also examining these call records.
The police have also extensively questioned Sohail Hindustani, who was arrested on Wednesday. Mr Hindustani allegedly tried to shop the BJP MPs around to Congress leaders before the trust vote. Several turned down his officer, according to the police. They claim that Mr Hindustani then approached the Samajwadi Party via its leader Rewati Raman Singh.
The police believe that Amar Singh did not depute Mr Hindustani to find BJP MPs who could be bought. Rather, Mr Hindustani knocked on the doors of the Samajwadi Party, promising that he could deliver three BJP MPs.
The BJP's own role has also been questioned. A report in the Tehelka newsmagazine earlier this year revealed that the party may have urged its MPs to put themselves on the market ahead of the trust vote, in the hope of exposing the UPA's willingness to buy support. This is why, some say, the BJP also co-opted a TV channel to shoot the negotiations between the MPs, Mr Saxena and Mr Hindustani.
Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/cash-for-votes-scandal-amar-singh-to-be-questioned-today-121188&cp
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