Hidden camera catches Laxman taking ‘bribe’

Hidden camera catches Laxman taking ‘bribe’
Press Trust of India

New Delhi, March 13: BJP President Bangaru Laxman resigned today after a web portal released secretly recorded video tapes of conversations with him, Samata Party President Jaya Jaitly and several top Defence Ministry officials accepting or showing willingness to accept money to fix defence deals.Earlier, Laxman admitted having taken the money for the party fund from people who, he said, came to him as traders but called it a “political conspiracy” to malign the BJP, the government and him.

But there was no immediate reaction from Jaitly or the others named in the expose by tehalka.com which organised a four-hour screening of the tapes shot with a hidden camera, as it had done last year to expose betting and match-fixing in cric-ket.

Even before screening of the tapes at a press conference at a leading hotel here was over, the issue rocked both Houses of Parliament forcing their adjournement with the opposition demanding an immediate government statement on the issue. Laxman said “I took money for the party. Where do defence deals come? I meet various kinds of people like contractors and businessmen. I don’t remember fully. They said we have come for party fund, I remember that. I would have to check with party treasurer Ved Prakash Goyal”, Laxman told reporters when asked about his meeting with the representatives of the website.

He said people give donation in cash or kind to the party and “they came as traders and not as arms dealers”.

Laxman said this was a “political conspiracy and they want to malign BJP, government and me. The credibility of the dotcom is doubtful. There is no question of resigning from the post of party president”.

He said his “conscience was clear” and that had these people come as arms dealers “I would not have met them”.

Meanwhile, Congress and other major opposition parties today demanded resignation of the NDA government following reports about an alleged corruptionscandal “exposed” by a portal involving BJP and Samata Party presidents and some bureaucrats.

“This government has no moral right to continue even for a minute if it is not in a position to disprove the fact revealed by the tehelka.com”, Congress spokesman Jaipal Reddy said hours after the portal screened the secretly shot film about the alleged scandal.

“Our chief whip Priyaranjan Dasmunshi was present at the screening. There is no doubt to question the authenticity. It is for the government to disprove it”, he said.“This government has no moral right to continue”, Reddy said.

Left parties also demanded trial of all those involved in the alleged scandal.In a statement the CPI-M politburo said “there can be no compromise with criminal and illegal activities..... The country will not tolerate any attempt to cover up of this most shocking scandal.”

The CPI said the Vajpayee government had “no moral right to continue in power after such shocking revelations.”