The cash-for-vote scam on Tuesday took a new turn following the arrest of senior BJP leader L.K. Advani’s former aide, Mr Sudheendra Kulkarni.
Mr Kulkarni, whom the BJP described as a “whistleblower”, was arrested for his alleged involvement in the 2008 cash-for-vote scam and remanded to judicial custody till October 1 following the rejection of his interim bail plea by a Delhi court.
Mr Kulkarni, who over the years had emerged as one of the most powerful faces in the BJP following his proximity to Mr Advani, however, had for long dissociated himself from the outfit and been with Trinamul leader Mamata Banerjee. The BJP adopted a cautious approach and did not come out aggressively in support of Mr Kulkarni.
“We respect the court’s decision. We have nothing to comment on it,” said BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman. She added that those who benefited from the scam had not yet been questioned and that the inquiry was “one-sided”. Mr Arun Jaitley said there “cannot be a charge of entrapment against whistleblowers when there is a charge of bribe-giving against others”.
The Delhi police has alleged in its chargesheet that Mr Kulkarni turned towards SP leaders in a bid to influence the 2008 trust vote of the UPA-I government after he failed to make inroads into the Congress camp. He then allegedly “masterminded” the conspiracy to bribe MPs and “directed” co-accused Suhail Hindustani to divert his efforts towards SP leaders who met the BJP MPs ahead of voting on the confidence motion in the Lok Sabha, it alleged.