Denying cash-for-vote, Amar Singh threatens to file defamation suit

Refuting charges of bribing three BJP MPs to abstain from the trust motion, SP leader Amar Singh said he would initiate a defamation suit...

Refuting charges of bribing three BJP MPs to abstain from the trust motion, SP leader Amar Singh said he would initiate a defamation suit and challenged the BJP to produce proof of his involvement in the affair.

Alleging that the matter was raised to distract the House from the real issue of the trust motion, Singh said the MPs could face a jail term for making false statements.

“Is there a tape of Amar Singh like the one that was made of (former BJP president) Bangaru Laxman? Show me if there is any such tape,” he said, minutes after the UPA Government pulled through the trust motion.

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The leader said he was not keeping well and had not met anyone for the past few days. Singh also asserted that he was open to any kind of inquiry into the matter. “Why did the BJP MPs accept the money even if it was offered to them? They should have informed the police and the cops could have caught the guilty red-handed,” he said at an impromptu press conference at his residence after the charges were made public.

Mulayam Singh supported him and said the allegation was a conspiracy by the BJP for scuttling House proceedings. Calling for Argal’s immediate arrest and finger print scanning of the currency notes, the SP leader said the drama would not have any effect on the trust vote.

“This is a conspiracy by the BJP. How can Rs 1 crore fit in the small bags that were brought in? Argal should be arrested and the bag should be examined for fingerprints. This is a BJP conspiracy to distract the House,” the SP leader said, adding that he was not so naïve as to fall into such a trap.

Singh said the three BJP MPs who alleged that he had bribed them were themselves involved in corruption cases earlier and had even been suspended by the party. “I have checked the backgrounds of these three MPs. They were involved in a case of releasing MPLAD fund to fake NGOs and Advani had suspended them from the party. The Speaker had also banned their participation in the House,” he said.

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Singh said he could put similar allegations of bribery against Advani in the House. “I can also go to the Parliament and claim that Advani paid me Rs 10 crore. Should I take a bag full of cash and carry it to Parliament?” the leader said.

Hailing Manmohan Singh on the victory in the trust vote, he said that Mulayam Singh took heed of former president A P J Abdul Kalam’s advice to vote for the nuclear deal.