New Delhi:
The Delhi Police has been ordered to complete its inquiry into the cash-for-votes scandal in three weeks. The scandal revolves around three BJP MPs who claimed they had been offered a crore to vote in favour of the UPA government during a trust vote in 2008.
The court pulled up the Delhi Police. "Drop your inhibitions and follow the law. When we are monitoring the probe where is the question of inhibition?" The police was also told to identify the source of the funds that were allegedly offered as a bribe.
The BJP MPs - Ashok Argal, Faggan Singh Kulaste and Mahavir Bhagora - claim that they were offered the bribe by middlemen acting on behalf of politicians Amar Singh. In 2008, Mr Singh was a senior leader of the Samajwadi Party which provided external support to the UPA government on crucial issues. He has, on earlier occasions, denied any link to the cash-for-votes scandal.
In July 2008, the MPs created a spectacle when they marched into the Lok Sabha waving bundles of cash. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh won the vote.
The Supreme Court said, "It is so very distressing that middlemen tried to manipulate the proceeding of the Parliament and to some extent succeeded."
The Delhi Police had made no progress in its inquiry till a few weeks ago when the Supreme Court issued a stern warning. Since then, at least two people have been arrested. One of them, Sanjeev Saxena, is believed to be a former aide of Mr Singh.
A private TV channel captured some parts of the negotiations between Mr Saxena, the three MPs and another middleman on hidden camera. The BJP is believed to have co-opted the channel to conduct the sting in an attempt to expose the UPA's alleged willingness to buy MPs to survive the trust vote.