New Delhi:
Tihar jail's newest high-profile prisoner Amar Singh will have to be wait for a few more days before he gets bail. A court in Delhi today deferred the hearing on the Rajya Sabha MP's bail plea till September 12. Mr Singh was sent to judicial custody till September 19 in the connection with the cash-for-votes scam.
Arguing for his bail today on grounds of fragile health, Mr Singh's lawyer said, "In his condition, he may need surgery...We do not want a situation where he is no more."
He further contended that the MP had an appointment with the doctor on September 9.
The court asked for the present medical condition of Mr Singh from Tihar authorities to decide whether he could be take care of in prison.
Amar Singh, the big wheeler dealer of Indian Politics, was arrested in connection with the cash-for-votes scam on Tuesday.
The evidence against Mr Singh includes detailed phone records that establish he was in regular contact with Sanjeev Saxena, his assistant, who negotiated with the trio of BJP MPs. Mr Singh tried to deny that Mr Saxena was his aide; the police, however, found several letters written by Mr Singh where he referred to Mr Saxena as his assistant. The car that delivered the money to the MPs belonged to Mr Singh as well. "This is circumstantial evidence," Mr Singh's lawyers had dismissed on Tuesday.
"The case is in the courts. We can't say anything on it yet. What can we do? They have said that MPs went to his house. We don't know whether the allegations are true or not," senior lawyer Ram Jethmalani said.
"He is a very interesting man, a good friend. He will never do something like this. Never," Jethmalani added.
But after Amar Singh's arrest, uncomfortable questions over Manmohan Singh's victory in the 2008 confidence vote have returned to haunt the UPA. His arrest has reopened the key question: Who was the ultimate beneficiary of the cash-for-votes scam?
Political parties are seeking a wider probe so all those responsible are brought to book.
In July 2008, the Left pulled out of the UPA government over Dr Singh's civil nuclear deal with America. 62 MPs therefore exited the government. Dr Singh had to prove he had a majority. On July 22, hours before the trust vote, three BJP MPs arrived in the Lok Sabha brandishing wads of notes. A crore is what they said it added upto, describing it as an advance from Mr Singh delivered through middlemen. The MPs - Ashok Argal, Faggan Kulaste and Mahavir Bhagora - said the deal struck with them was for three crores each; they just had to ensure they abstained during the vote. Mr Argal is still an MP; the other two are not, and were arrested today along with Mr Singh.
The BJP says it's time for Mr Singh to reveal the names of those he represented. The beneficiaries were the Prime Minister and his government, said both the Left and the BJP today, demanding that the PM now explain why Mr Singh went to such great lengths to help the UPA. "It's the scandal of the century," said the BJP's Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
The cash-for-votes scam as it is known has two leading roles. On one hand, there's Mr Singh who has been accused of bribing three BJP MPs and has been charged with abetment and criminal conspiracy under the Prevention of Corruption Act. According to the Delhi Police, Mr Singh walked into a trap carpentered by Sudheendra Kulkarni, who was an advisor to senior BJP leader LK Advani in 2008. Mr Kulkarni, according to the police's chargesheet, fancied himself as a whistleblower who decided to expose the UPA government's willingness to buy support for its trust vote. So he enlisted three MPs to market themselves to potential political buyers. Mr Singh allegedly rose to the occasion. Mr Kulkarni has also been chargesheeted for "inducement" of bribes and corruption.