New Delhi:
Sudheendra Kulkarni, the man who has been described by the police as the mastermind of the cash-for-votes scam, has said that recent developments prove that he was trying to expose the corruption within the UPA government. "We have been vindicated," he told NDTV this morning at his lawyer's office.
Mr Kulkarni, who has served as the political advisor to senior BJP leader LK Advani, was released from Tihar Jail last evening; the Delhi High Court granted him bail earlier this week. He had been arrested on September 27.
He says that in 2008, he asked three BJP MPs to see if they could find "buyers" for their votes ahead of a trust vote in Parliament. They did; they were paid a crore in cash as an advance. The Delhi Police says the man who organized the money was Amar Singh, who was then with the Samajwadi Party. The MPs showed off the cash in the Lok Sabha on July 22, hours before the vote began (the Prime Minister survived the no-confidence motion). The police has not explained on whose behalf it believes Mr Singh acted.
The BJP has said that its attempt was to serve as whistle-blowers. While granting Mr Kulkarni bail, the Delhi High Court accepted this, and said that there was no evidence to suggest that the MPs accepted a bribe - which is what the Delhi Police has accused them of. However, the cash-for-votes trial is being handled by a lower court in Delhi - and it has so far treated Mr Kulkarni and the MPs as criminal conspirators. He said he hopes the Delhi High Court's vision "will have some bearing. But the police's stand has been different at trial court and at the High Court."
"I am happy with the way the truth is emerging. There is enough to convince people that we were not seeking illegal gratification. Ultimate beneficiaries must go to Tihar Jail," said Mr Kulkarni. The BJP has been insisting that because the money offered to its MPs was aimed at helping the Prime Minister remain in power, he must take some responsibility for the cash-for-votes scam.
Mr Kulkarni also confirmed that he has accepted Mr Advani's invitation to join his Jan Chetna Yatra - a countrywide tour aimed at promoting clean governance and highlighting the corruption within the current government.
Mr Kulkarni has also added another item to his agenda - "Tihar Jail was like a university. I have come back with determination to reform criminal justice system," he said.