BJP honours ‘whistleblowers’ of cash-for-votes scam

In an all-out offensive against the Congress ahead of Parliament’s winter session starting next week, the BJP on Saturday demanded the UPA Government “tell the nation how it survived” the confidence motion in July 2008.

The BJP awarded a “heroes welcome” to its party members, who were recently granted bail in the cash-for-vote scam.

Addressing the “felicitation” of the five party members including LK Advani’s former aide, Sudheendra Kulkarni, at the party headquarters here,  BJP president Nitin Gadkari said, “Congress president Sonia Gandhi and prime minister Manmohan Singh should let the country know how the UPA government survived the trust motion over three years ago.”

He also demanded apologies from Sonia and Singh for “sending whistle-blowers to Tihar jail”.

The whistle-blowers, according to the BJP, are three of its members who as MPs displayed currency notes in the house in July 2008, accusing the Congress of horse-trading prior to a confidence motion after the Left parties withdrew their support to UPA-I over the Indo-US nuclear deal.

Last week, the Delhi high court had granted bail to party’s sitting MP BJP Ashok Argal, ex- MPs Faggan Singh Kulaste and Mahaveer Bhagora, Sudheendra Kulkarni and party supporter Sohail Hindustani, after weeks of hearing.

The party’s Lok Sabha leader Sushma Swaraj while delivering her speech on the occasion said she was “saddened that Parliament did not laud the BJP MPs for their service to democracy.”