The drama which unfolded in the Parliament on Tuesday, embarrassed whole of the Nation. Read the chilling story of corruption, bribery, and horse-trading. Also read the comments of experts:
3 BJP MPs ‘sting’ SP men bribing them Rs 9cr to abstain
3 BJP MPs ‘sting’ SP men bribing them Rs 9cr to abstain
July 23, 2008, TIMES NEWS NETWORK
New Delhi: The plan to ‘trap’ UPA’s vote managers was hatched on Monday evening, if the BJP's version of events is to believed. BJP, struggling to hold on to its flock that was allegedly being poached by the Samajwadi Party and Congress with the lure of lucre, apparently discovered that its MP from Morena, Ashok Argal could actually do a sting to expose the “murky game of buying and selling MPs". Remember Argal? He’s the BJP MP The Times of India wrote about on its front page on Tuesday. Argal, a Dalit, is set to lose his seat in the coming Lok Sabha election because of delimitation. So, he was antsy — and was being targeted by SP leaders. BJP got wind of this and speedily addressed his problem by promising him an Assembly ticket. Argal, in short, had decided he would not switch his loyalty. But SP managers, determined to swell the numbers for UPA, were not giving up on him, claims BJP. Argal is understood to have told his party leaders about their persistence and the leaders, in turn, told him: Trap them. The plan was accordingly hatched. When SP MP from Allahabad, Reoti Raman Singh, called on Argal at his 4, Ferozeshah Road residence late on Monday night, the BJP MP was prepared. Argal told Reoti Raman that not just him, but two more BJP MPs — Mahavir Bhagora and Faggan Singh Kulaste, both tribals — were willing to jump fence. Reoti Raman is said to have fixed a meeting between the BJP MPs and Amar Singh next morning. This visit of the SP member to Argal's residence is said to have been recorded by stealth on camera by a TV journalist from a TV news channel, CNNIBN, who had been tipped off.
New Delhi: The plan to ‘trap’ UPA’s vote managers was hatched on Monday evening, if the BJP's version of events is to believed. BJP, struggling to hold on to its flock that was allegedly being poached by the Samajwadi Party and Congress with the lure of lucre, apparently discovered that its MP from Morena, Ashok Argal could actually do a sting to expose the “murky game of buying and selling MPs". Remember Argal? He’s the BJP MP The Times of India wrote about on its front page on Tuesday. Argal, a Dalit, is set to lose his seat in the coming Lok Sabha election because of delimitation. So, he was antsy — and was being targeted by SP leaders. BJP got wind of this and speedily addressed his problem by promising him an Assembly ticket. Argal, in short, had decided he would not switch his loyalty. But SP managers, determined to swell the numbers for UPA, were not giving up on him, claims BJP. Argal is understood to have told his party leaders about their persistence and the leaders, in turn, told him: Trap them. The plan was accordingly hatched. When SP MP from Allahabad, Reoti Raman Singh, called on Argal at his 4, Ferozeshah Road residence late on Monday night, the BJP MP was prepared. Argal told Reoti Raman that not just him, but two more BJP MPs — Mahavir Bhagora and Faggan Singh Kulaste, both tribals — were willing to jump fence. Reoti Raman is said to have fixed a meeting between the BJP MPs and Amar Singh next morning. This visit of the SP member to Argal's residence is said to have been recorded by stealth on camera by a TV journalist from a TV news channel, CNNIBN, who had been tipped off.
On Tuesday morning, Argal and Kulaste reached Amar Singh’s residence at 27, Lodhi Estate. BJP sources alleged Amar Singh told the BJP MPs that the UPA already had the necessary number of MPs to win the vote. So, he was not in a position to give them too much money. Still, he was prepared to give them Rs 3 crore each for abstaining from voting. To seal the deal by building greater confidence in the BJP MPs, the BJP MPs claim Amar Singh got them to speak to someone on phone who he said was Sonia Gandhi's political secretary, Ahmad Patel. The MPs claim they played along and agreed to the deal. But they pointed out that with television crew deployed 24x7 outside Amar Singh’s residence, it was not possible to carry out wads of notes. Amar Singh is claimed to have offered to have the money delivered. Soon, Sanjeev Saxena, Amar Singh's personal aide, went to Argal's residence with a bag. This visit too is said to be have been recorded on camera, which also captured Saxena taking out wads of currency notes. The BJP MPs claim Saxena gave them Rs 1 crore as “token money" and told them that the remaining Rs 8 crore would be delivered after they had abstained in the trust vote. In the footage which is now with the Speaker, Saxena is is also shown as giving the phone to Argal to speak with somebody whom the BJP MP later identified as Amar Singh.
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