Cash-for-vote: WikiLeaks land UPA in trouble; Opp demands resignation

WikiLeaks cables have landed the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the Centre in a major row as it faces charges of buying votes to pass the crucial 2008 Indo-US civil nuclear deal, a pact that almost led the UPA-I to collapse.

The Opposition seized the latest revelations to demand the UPA-II?s resignation even as the government warded off the matter, maintaining that it cannot react to correspondence between a sovereign nation and its diplomat and that it was not accountable for the last Lok Sabha.

A set of diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks show that the UPA-I had resorted to buying votes to pass the crucial 2008 Indo-US civil nuclear deal, reports said on Thursday.

The historic deal paved the way for foreign countries to enter the India?s USD 150 billion civilian nuclear energy market, ending its nuclear isolation following the atomic test in 1974.

Pushed hard by the Manmohan Singh government in its first term, the deal faced stiff opposition in the country?s parliament over the issue of limiting liability of foreign suppliers that enter the industry and its slow progress frustrated U.S. analysts.

The set of communiqu?s, or cables, between U.S. diplomatic officials — accessed by The Hindu daily — show that they were assured by Nachiketa Kapur, an aide of Congress leader Satish Sharma, that the party had gathered about Rs 50-60 crores to buy out votes to allow the deal.

On Thursday, however, Sharma, who is a known loyalist of the Gandhi family, completely denied having an aide named Nachiketa Kapur as mentioned by WikiLeaks.

With the government still facing heat from the Opposition over several corruption scandals, including the 2G scam and the Commonwealth Games swindle, this explosive leak is only set to make things hotter for the ruling coalition.

In the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, BJP leader Arun Jaitey said that the government ?had no right to continue? after the WikiLeaks expos?.

?Cables proved our worst fears,? he said, adding that the Congress was badly exposed.

“This government survives on the strength of a political, moral sin,” alleged Jaitley.

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said the government had ?lost all moral right to continue?.

Both houses had to be adjourned over the ruckus over the cash-for-vote controversy.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) patriarch L K Advani said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should quit after the expose in the WikiLeaks cables.

Advani said Pranab Mukherjee’s defence that the matter ended with the 14th Lok Sabha was an “incredible” defence.

“There is no end to scandal and stinks that accompany this government,” he said.

The NDA demands that this government has no moral right to continue and it must quit, he said.

He said Indian democracy is shamed by the ruling government.

The Left parties, who had parted ways with the government in 2008 over the civil Indo-US nuclear deal, have called for a probe into the matter.

?The ?cash-for-vote? issue had erupted in the Lok Sabha on the day of the vote (July 22, 2008) itself. But despite the trail of evidence, after an enquiry by a Parliamentary Committee, no action was taken,? Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) said in a statement.

It added: ?The report sent by the US Charge d’Affaires should be the basis for the filing of a First Information Report and an investigation against Mr. Satish Sharma and Mr. Nachiketa Kapur.

?The Congress leadership, including the Prime Minister, cannot escape their responsibility in this gross act of political malfeasance and bribery.?

According to the WikiLeaks cables, five days before the UPA government faced a critical vote of confidence in the Lok Sabha over the deal, Kapur had showed a U.S. diplomat to India two chests stuffed with cash.

Kapur also purportedly said that Rs 10 crore had been paid to each of the four MPs belonging to Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) in return of their votes, revealed the cable dated Jul 17, 2008.

But on Thursday, RLD chief Ajit Singh denied that his MPs were paid to vote for the government.

“We did vote against the government. We had only three MPs at that time,” said Ajit Singh, adding that he was against the nuclear deal for reasons now vindicated by the Japan crisis.

The Congress apparently had also made attempts to talk out eight votes from the Akali Dal but the negotiations did not work out. Efforts were even made to create divide within its opposing BJP and the Shiv Sena.

Just ahead of the vote on July 22, 2008, BJP MPs dangled wads of cash in the House alleging attempts made by the government to buy out the lawmakers.

Investigations into the matter however allowed the issue to be cooled off.

However, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee maintained that the present government at the centre is not accountable to the previous Lok Sabha.

Mukherjee said: “What happened in 14th Lok Sabha cannot be dragged to the 15th Lok Sabha. The government of the day is not accountable to 14th Lok Sabha but the 15th Lok Sabha.”

Mukherjee, refuting the charges of Opposition, said the cables enjoyed diplomatic immunity.

He said the government cannot confirm or deny the cables since it was between another sovereign country and its diplomat.

He said the cables as published in newspaper is not an admissible legal document in any court of law in India.

Congress leader Rajeev Shukla also came out in defence of the government.

?The whole world has rejected the Wikileaks reports. If a diplomat is writing to his own sovereign government, I do not think any government can take responsibility for it,? he said.

Criticizing the Opposition for stalling the Parliament over the issue, Shukla said, ?You cannot stall Parliament for this and you are not letting ministers speak. The Opposition, particularly the BJP should tender an apology to the government for its conduct in the House.?