Rajya Sabha member of Parliament Amar Singh, facing prosecution for his alleged role in the 2008 cash-for-vote scam, on Tuesday claimed he has "full information" about the episode but refused to comment as case is sub-judice.
More trouble is lurking for former Samajwadi Party leader, Amar Singh. After his alleged former secretary, Sanjeev Saxena, was arrested by the Delhi police, police are training their guns on several 'whistle-blowers' in the case.
The Delhi high court on Monday granted bail to Rajya Sabha member of Parliament Amar Singh, who was arrested in connection with his alleged role in the 2008 cash-for-vote scam, on medical grounds.
A Delhi court on Friday dismissed the bail plea of Sudheendra Kulkarni, former aide of Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani and an accused in the 2008 cash-for-vote scam.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders L K Advani and Arun Jaitley on Wednesday visited Tihar jail to meet Sudheendra Kulkarni and former party members of Parliament lodged at the jail in connection with the cash-for-vote scam.
The Bharatiya Janata Party Thursday went on the offensive on the cash-for-vote scam with senior leader L K Advani hailing as "whistle-blowers" the two former party MPs jailed in the scam and declaring that if they are guilty then he too should be sent behind bars.
The anti-corruption protest of activist Anna Hazare on Friday had a supporter in Suhail Hindustani, a key accused in 2008 cash-for-vote scam, who appeared in a Delhi court wearing a Gandhian cap written Mai Anna Hoon on it.
Sources said that the Delhi Police have found evidence against seven persons for their alleged involvement in the 2008 case and all will be charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The Delhi police on Monday did not oppose the bail petitions of the five jailed accused in the 2008 cash-for-vote case, including two former Bharatiya Janata Party Members of Parliament and L K Advani's former aide Sudheendra Kulkarni, besides the anticipatory bail plea of a party MP in the Delhi high court. Justice M L Mehta reserved the order on the pleas of the six accused till November 16.
Taking forward its probe in the cash-for-vote scam, the Delhi police is all set to grill Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh on Friday for his alleged role in the sensational case.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday termed the on-going investigation by Delhi police into the cash-for-vote scam as an "eyewash" and "cover-up", saying a clean chit had been given to Congress and Samajwadi Party without examining the whistleblower MPs and former SP leader Amar Singh.
Delhi Police has approached the Union home ministry seeking permission to question MP Amar Singh in the 2008 cash-for-vote scam.
Special Judge Sangita Dhingra Sehgal turned down the interim bail application of Kulkarni, 54, saying it was devoid of merits and fixed hearing on his plea for regular bail on October one. Till then he will be in judicial custody in Tihar Jail.
Reddy was also asked to surrender his passport and not to leave his assembly constituency.
In its report, the committee is understood to have suggested that the money trail could be probed by an investigating agency like CBI or the Income Tax Department. The 600-page report will carry evidence given by witnesses and verbatim transcriptions of sittings as also the 'dissent' notes by BJP's V K Malhotra, Mohd Salim (CPI-M) and Ramgopal Yadav (SP).
A local court conducting the proceedings in the 2008 cash-for-vote scam case on Monday pulled up Delhi police for the delay in supplying the transcript of the CD of the sting to the accused persons.
Rajya Sabha member of Parliament Amar Singh's interim bail in 2008 cash-for-vote scam was extended till Wednesday by a Delhi court. Special judge Sangita Dhingra Sehgal extended Singh's interim bail for a day while reserving for Wednesday her order on his regular bail.
The Delhi police was directed on Monday by a local court to file a report on a complaint of a key prosecution witness in the 2008 cash-for-vote scam case that Rajya Sabha member of Parliament Amar Singh and others had threatened and kidnapped him ahead of his deposition before a Parliamentary committee.
Rajya Sabha member of Parliament Amar Singh would be arrested again as Delhi court dismissed his regular as well as interim bail pleas in the 2008 cash-for-votes scam on Wednesday.
The Congress on Wednesday said that the cash-for-vote scam was a matter between former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh and the Bharatiya Janata Party and there is "not a shred of evidence against any Congress leader".
Standing firm behind its two "whistle-blower" ex-MPs and L K Advani's former aide Sudheendra Kulkarni in the cash-for-vote scam, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday claimed they were innocent and were only trying to "expose" use of money to save the United Progressive Alliance-I government during the 2008 trust vote.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday rose to the defence of former L K Advani aide Sudheendra Kulkarni in the cash-for-votes scam, saying whistleblowers cannot be charged and wondered why those who had benefitted from the scandal had not even been questioned.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani on Wednesday said he wanted his party's ex-MPs who had received bail in the cash-for-vote case to be declared innocent and honoured in Parliament for "strengthening democracy."
The Telangana Anti-Corruption Bureau on Monday arrested a second party legislator Sandra Venkata Veeraiah after interrogating him in connection with the case.
A purported conversation in an audio tape between Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and nominated legislator Elvys Stephenson, aired in a section of local television channels, has given a new twist to the cash-for-votes controversy.
The enquiry committee headed by senior Congress member V Kishore Chandra Deo held its first meeting on Wednesday and also decided to see the video footage of the sting operation of the entire episode
Bharatiya Janata party president Nitin Gadkari on Friday said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi should apologise to the nation for the "political conspiracy" under which BJP whistle-blowers were jailed in the cash-for-vote scam.
In a fresh twist in the cash-for-votes scam, Andhra Pradesh police on Monday registered a case against Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao over the alleged illegal tapping of the phones of his Andhra Pradesh counterpart Chandrababu Naidu.
A day after getting bail from Hyderabad high court, Telangana TDP MLA A Revanth Reddy and two others were on Wednesday released from Cherlapally Central Prison in Hyderabad, with scores of cheering supporters of Reddy raising slogans and waving Telugu Desam flags.
BJP leader Vinod Tawde has demanded an apology from Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, and party spokesperson Supriya Shrinate for making "false and baseless" allegations against him in the cash-for-votes incident in Maharashtra. Tawde was accused by the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi of distributing Rs 5 crore to woo voters. He has sent a legal notice to the Congress leaders, claiming they were aware the story was fabricated and demanding an unconditional apology within 24 hours. If the apology is not forthcoming, Tawde has threatened to initiate criminal and civil proceedings against the trio.
With such announcements grabbing the voters' attention, critical issues like pollution, especially the smog that chokes Delhi every winter, remain largely unaddressed. Many residents have raised concerns over the lack of concrete action plans to combat air pollution, which continues to pose a severe health risk to Delhiites.
'He didn't implement good policies for good politics.' 'He never worked on comprehensive policy-making.' 'In Kejriwal's own constituency youths are jobless.'
There was more to him than he let on, asserts Aditi Phadnis.
Maharashtra recorded a voter turnout of 58.22 per cent till 5 pm on Wednesday in the elections to the 288-member state legislative assembly, with Gadchiroli district logging more than 69 per cent voting, poll officials said.
The EC's actions remain to be seen on 'money-hoarding and transportation' for poll-time use. The question remains if the polity in the state would push the EC so far as to use the countermanding option. Even then EC would have to push its constitutional powers to find a way to prevent 'money-power' in the state's elections, says N Sathiya Moorthy
Amid a raging row over the cash-for-vote scam, Anti-Corruption Bureau sleuths on Tuesday conducted searches at the residences of Telugu Desam Party MLA Revanth Reddy and arrested two persons in connection with the case.
Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar has sent a legal notice to Shashi Tharoor, accusing the Congress MP of making defamatory statements against him on a TV channel recently.
It said the by-election will be held in 'due course when the vitiating effect created by the distribution of money and gift items to allure the electors...gets removed with the passage of time'.
Police later let the legislators off after a brief detention at a marriage hall. Stalin demanded the dismissal of the AIADMK government over the issue of the alleged pay-offs.
The delegation comprised DMK leaders R S Bharathi, T K S Elangovan and Tiruchi N Siva.
