Mahato drags Kesri into JMM MPs's bribery case

Hours before the no-confidence motion against the Narasimha Rao government was put to vote on July 28, 1993, Congress president Sitaram Kesri had promised Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leaders that the assurances given to them by Rao would be honoured, Shailendra Mahato, key accused in the MPs bribery case, has said in his confessional statement seeking to become an approver.

In the statement, recorded by Metropolitan Magistrate Harish Dudani on March 22 and submitted to the trial court of Additional Sessions Judge Ajit Bharihoke on Monday, March 31, Mahato said Kesri, then the Congress treasurer, made the assurance in the Central Hall of Parliament where he had called the four JMM MPs a short while before the motion was put to vote.

Mahato and Narasimha Rao are among the 21 accused in the MPs bribery case being tried by Bharihoke.

Mahato had given details in the 15-page statement in Hindi.

The details, except the naming of Kesri, had been given in his application filed in Judge Bharihoke's court, seeking to turn an approver.

On being asked by the judge the next day whether he had any further details to give, he had said he had some more information.

The judge had, following this, assigned the recording of Mahato's statement to a lower court.

Mahato reiterated his earlier statement admitting that he had received Rs 5 million for voting against the motion and that Suraj Mandal, one of the four JMM leaders accused in the case, had told him that the Rs 20 million paid to the then four JMM MPs ''has been sent by the prime minister''.