Wikileaks: India's RLD Party Members Took Bribes on Crucial Vote
- 13 years ago
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A diplomatic cable revealed by Wikileaks suggests that members of India's RLD Party were given bribes to support a crucial vote in 2008. The party leader says the allegeations are false.
The chief of India's regional Rashtriya Lok Dal party, Ajit Singh, is denying allegations that his party was bribed to vote for the Congress-led federal government in the 2008 Confidence Vote.
Indian newspaper 'The Hindu', quoting whistleblower site WikiLeaks, published details of a conversation between an aide of a senior member of the federal ruling Congress party and a U.S. Embassy official… over the payment of almost $9 million by a government facing a crucial confidence vote… to members of a regional political party to secure their support.
The cable details a conversation between an aide of Congress party lawmaker Satish Sharma, and U.S. Charge d'Affaires Steven White. Sharma states that 'four lawmakers' belonging to the RLD party had been paid more than $2 million each in order to secure their support for the government in a tight confidence vote, over the Congress party's support of a nuclear deal between India and the U.S.
Sharma is a close associate of party chief Sonia Gandhi.
White, who authored the secret cable, described how the embassy staff were shown two chests containing $11-13 million that had been earmarked for (quote) "use as pay-offs."
Refuting the allegation, Singh says that the three lawmakers of his party voted against the government after consulting with other parties.
[Ajit Singh, Chief, Rashtriya Lok Dal Party]
"Our party was against the nuclear deal and incidentally the recent events in Japan has vindicated us. We had extensive discussion with the TDP, with the Left (the Communists), with the TRS, and we decided to vote against the government and we did vote against the government."
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A diplomatic cable revealed by Wikileaks suggests that members of India's RLD Party were given bribes to support a crucial vote in 2008. The party leader says the allegeations are false.
The chief of India's regional Rashtriya Lok Dal party, Ajit Singh, is denying allegations that his party was bribed to vote for the Congress-led federal government in the 2008 Confidence Vote.
Indian newspaper 'The Hindu', quoting whistleblower site WikiLeaks, published details of a conversation between an aide of a senior member of the federal ruling Congress party and a U.S. Embassy official… over the payment of almost $9 million by a government facing a crucial confidence vote… to members of a regional political party to secure their support.
The cable details a conversation between an aide of Congress party lawmaker Satish Sharma, and U.S. Charge d'Affaires Steven White. Sharma states that 'four lawmakers' belonging to the RLD party had been paid more than $2 million each in order to secure their support for the government in a tight confidence vote, over the Congress party's support of a nuclear deal between India and the U.S.
Sharma is a close associate of party chief Sonia Gandhi.
White, who authored the secret cable, described how the embassy staff were shown two chests containing $11-13 million that had been earmarked for (quote) "use as pay-offs."
Refuting the allegation, Singh says that the three lawmakers of his party voted against the government after consulting with other parties.
[Ajit Singh, Chief, Rashtriya Lok Dal Party]
"Our party was against the nuclear deal and incidentally the recent events in Japan has vindicated us. We had extensive discussion with the TDP, with the Left (the Communists), with the TRS, and we decided to vote against the government and we did vote against the government."