PM denies bribery charge

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today mounted a two-pronged defence in the Wikileaks cash-for-votes expose.

While he completely rejected any idea or plan for bribery in voting during the July 2008 trust vote, he said if such a thing had happened, he didn’t know about it and was certainly not involved in it. In the morning, the prime minister was asked about the controversy at the India Today conclave. To this, he replied, “I have no knowledge of any purchase of votes. I am not involved in any of these transactions. I have not authorised anyone.” He said the country’s image had been affected by the series of recently reported scams. “The events of the past few days do affect us. Our image at home and abroad has been impacted,” he said.

He, however, struck a different note later in the day. Inside Parliament, not only did he assert there had been no bribery and dubbed the charge as “unverified and speculative”. He also said charges of this kind “had been debated, discussed and rejected by the people of India.”

“The government rejects the allegations absolutely and firmly,” he said in identical statements in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

Amid thumping of desks by the Treasury Benches, Singh said, “No one from the Congress or the government indulged in any unlawful act.”

Reiterating the position articulated by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee earlier, he said the correspondence between the US Embassy and the State Department in Washington was something the government could not verify or authenticate.

He said even the existence of such a communication — the basis of the Wikileaks report — was in doubt.

He said the United Progressive Alliance government had won the 2008 trust vote with 275 votes in favour and 256 against. The charge were probed by a committee of the 14th Lok Sabha which concluded that there was insufficient evidence to draw any conclusion. An election followed and the Congress-led UPA won. Thus, the matter had been decided not just in Parliament but also in people’s court, he said.

The Opposition was unconvinced. The Bharatiya Janata Party decided to raise the matter as a privilege motion. It said the Kishore Chandra Deo panel, which went into the allegation, had suggested a criminal inquiry against the perpetrators, including two middlemen. But nothing came of it. Even the bribe amount seized by the Delhi Police could not be traced, it said.

Although Parliament was stalled, it was clear much of the fight had gone out of the Opposition. By announcing a privilege motion, they have allowed the government to engage and discuss the matter. As the prime minister is a member of the Upper House, the motion will originate there. As the Left is unlikely to join BJP, it is impossible for the motion to be carried. Morever, Parliament will adjourn on March 25 and the next session will be convened only after a gap of several weeks.