ওয়াশিংটন বাংলা রেডিও Washington Bangla Radio USA

New Delhi, July 20 (IBNS) After former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi were dragged into the 2008 cash-for-votes scandal when it was alleged that lawmakers were bought to save the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

The Delhi Police Crime Branch on Wednesday quizzed Suhail Hindustani, who allegedly acted as a middleman between Amar Singh and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs in the scam.

Hindustani told reporters that people close to the PM and Gandhi’s Political Secretary Ahmed Patel tried to bribe him.

"I received calls from Amar Singh and Ahmed Patel. Those close to Prime Minister called me and even from 10-Janpath (Gandhi's official residence)," Hindustani told reporters.

Declining to name them, he said: "I challenge them. These people tried to bribe me. They asked me why are you aligned with BJP? Is your life going haywire? Come, align with us and we will give you some big posts like chairmanship. They told me that if you get one MP, we will give you Rs 5-10 crore as commission.”

 Hindustani said Amar Singh told him that he was working on Manmohan Singh and Patel’s directions.

"People could not believe that Manmohan Singh and Congress party could stoop to this level to save the government," he said.

The Delhi Police have already asked for permission from the Home Ministry to question Amar Singh over the controversial cash-for-votes scam.

Earlier, Sanjeev Saxena, former aide of Singh, had allegedly told Delhi Police that he was given large amount of money by Singh to offer them to the Bharatiya Janata Party MPs to give support to the UPA government during the a trust vote in 2008.

Saxena was arrested by Delhi police on Sunday in connection with the cash-for-votes scam of 2008 when it was alleged that lawmakers were bought to save the Manmohan Singh government.

He allegedly paid money to MPs (supposedly from BJP who then showed the wads of money in Parliament) to vote in favour of the UPA government which was facing a collapse after the communists withdrew support over singing the civil nuclear deal with USA.

Meanwhile, Amar Singh has repeatedly claimed that he does not know Sanjeev Saxena well, reports said.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh earlier this year said that his government or party never indulged in any activity to buy lawmakers to win a trust vote in 2008.

"None from the Congress party or the government indulged in any such unlawful act during the trust vote in 2008," the PM said in Parliament this year after the Opposition attack on the issue.