Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: BJP MP Ram Jethmalani on Monday created flutters in a local court here when he claimed that the money produced in the Lok Sabha during the cash-for-vote scam was "likely to be from the BJP".
Seeking interim bail for former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh, the senior advocate told Special Judge Sangita Dhingra Sehgal that even Sanjeev Saxena, co-accused in the cash-for-vote scam, in his bail application has said that the money which he had allegedly delivered to the MPs, had been received by him from the BJP`s treasurer.
"If the money was waved (in Lok Sabha) by the BJP MPs, then the source of money is likely to be from the BJP. I am not prejudicing anybody`s case.
"There is no allegation that Amar Singh arranged the money," Jethmalani told the court, which is to pronounce its order on Singh`s bail plea Tuesday.
Jethamalani`s arguments in seeking Amar Singh`s bail on health grounds goes contrary to the stand of the BJP, which has been asking the Congress-led UPA as to the source of the money.
The BJP says that money could have come only from the "beneficiary" of the vote on the confidence motion.
Jethmalani denies accusing BJP
However, Jethmalani later denied that he had accused BJP of having played a role in arranging the money in the cash-for-vote scam of 2008 and accused the media of misreporting.
"I have not done anything of that kind. You people are spreading (wrong reports) all the time," he said on the sidelines of a function in Mumbai.
"I merely said that there was no evidence that Amar Singh gave this money...read the charge sheet...it doesn`t say that Amar Singh has given this money. Amar Singh has not arranged the sting operation either," he added.
Talking to reporters outside the court, Jethmalani reportedly said, "There are no allegations in the charge sheet that he (Amar Singh) has given the money.... Advani has said that he arranged for the sting operation. So, obviously somebody from BJP must have arranged for the money who wanted the sting operation to take place."
BJP plays down
Reacting to Jethmalani`s claim, BJP leader Arun Jaitley sought to play it down saying that Jethmalani was only a lawyer arguing on behalf of his client.
"This is the plea of an accused and he is only a lawyer. Whatever plea a lawyer takes, no matter how false they may be, we normally do not comment on them as the matter is pending in court."
Jethamalani said in the court that "Nobody has committed the offence. The BJP chaps, by showing the money in the Lok Sabha, have not done anything wrong. It was intended to expose corruption."
He said former BJP MPs Faggan Singh Kulaste and Mahabir Singh Bhagora, besides sitting BJP MP Ashok Argal have not done "anything wrong" by waving money on the floor of the Parliament during the confidence motion.
The BJP MP said it was not a case that money was given to the MPs to ask questions in the Parliament or for showing favour to anybody.
"These MPs were not supposed to commit an offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The charge sheet does not say that I (Amar Singh) handed over the money. Sanjeev Saxena, in his bail application filed in this court, has said that he got the money from the treasurer of the party that is BJP," he added.
Arguing that 55-year-old Amar Singh is "sick and infirm," Jethmalani added that he has recently undergone a kidney transplant and is now suffering from urinary tract infection and his vital parameters are not stable.
"Jail is not a place where one goes to cure his illness. The question is whether he is sick and infirm? He is really sick," he said.
To buttress his claim, Jethmalani said the sting was organised by a private news channel to expose the corruption.
"For what purpose the court would take the risk of this man`s (Amar Singh) health? There is no investigation now and trial is not going on," he said.
He requested the court to refer Amar Singh to Deen Dayal Upadhayay (DDU) Hospital or All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for constant health monitoring.
Amar Singh admitted to AIIMS
Meanwhile, Amar Singh was tonight admitted in All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) following a rise in creatinine level in his body, Tihar jail spokesman Sunil Gupta said.
Creatinine is a fairly reliable indicator of a person`s kidney functioning.
Singh, 55, was admitted in the private ward of AIIMS at around 8 pm, Gupta said.
"Since his creatinine rpt creatinine level was high, we decided to shift him to AIIMS", he added.
A panel of doctors at Tihar jail examined Singh, found his creatinine level high and decided to refer him for admission in AIIMS, Tihar sources said.
Dr S Gupta, head of the Nephrology of AIIMS, is attending on Singh.
Earlier today, the health parameters of Amar Singh, who has been seeking interim bail from a Delhi court on medical ground, were described in medical reports from Tihar jail as "stable and normal".
Submitting the status report before Special Judge Sangita Dhingra Sehgal on Singh`s medical condition today, the jail authorities said quoting the medical status report that "his medical condition is stable and all parameters are near normal, as reported by various specialists and as indicated by the pathological tests".
With PTI inputs
