Author: PTI
Publication: Rediff on Net
Date: December 6, 2003
URL: http://in.rediff.com/news/2003/dec/06chhat.htm
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday
night alleged that outgoing Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi tried
to break up the party by bribing its MLAs.
Union Law Minister and the BJP's
senior leader Arun Jaitley played an audio tape before mediapersons in
Raipur at around 2300 IST in which two persons are discussing plans to
prevent the BJP from forming a government in the state.
One person, allegedly Jogi, is heard
telling the other person that the Congress would prop up a government led
by a senior BJP leader, Baliram Kashyap. They two persons struck a deal
over the amount of money to change hands.
Jaitley said one of the voices belonged
to Jogi and the other to BJP MLA Virendra Pandey. He clarified that the
latter had taken part in the episode only to trap Jogi and showed the money
that Jogi had allegedly offered to Pandey.
He said the BJP had 'water-tight'
documentary, material and taped evidence against Jogi, his son and Congress
MP P R Kunte for allegedly trying to bribe BJP MLAs to effect a split in
the BJP's legislature party and prevent formation of a BJP government in
the state.
Jaitley said both Jogi and Kunte
were public servants and a case of corruption for defection had been clearly
made out by the available evidence. He said the tape recording was clear
and the person trying to offer money to the MLAs was 'unabashedly' offering
the bribe.
Jaitley said they had handed over
a copy of the tape to the governor. Jaitley said this was a clear case
of attempt to break a political party and prevent formation of a government.
There was also a hand written letter
by Jogi, he claimed.
Jaitley alleged the entire conspiracy
had been hatched at the instance of Congress president Sonia Gandhi. "Her
name is being used," he said.
A stash of notes said to be amounting
to Rs 45lakh offered by Jogi to engineer defections was displayed at the
press conference.
Since the outgoing government was
still in office till Sunday morning, the party would hand over the original
documents, the tape and other evidence to the police for investigation
only after the new dispensation takes over.
Jaitley said the new government
will ask the CBI to investigate the matter and the original tape of the
conversation will be handed over to the investigating agency. The money
will be handed over to the police on Sunday, he said.
