BJP, Left make cash-for-votes tapes ammo against UPA

New Delhi: Political parties have reacted sharply to CNN-IBN’s cash-for-votes sting operation, the tapes of which were broadcast on Monday.

The BJP, which led the charge, has trained its attention on Sanjeev Saxena, the man who is shown on the tapes delivering Rs one crore to three BJP MPs ahead of the trust vote in Parliament on July 22. The BJP insists that Saxena, who has to depose before a Parliament panel next week, is the link to Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh.

"Saxena must be put through a narco-analysis to establish the truth," said BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad.

Joining the BJP, ironically, is the Left. The two parties may be opposed to each other ideologically but both seemed to have made common cause on the cash for votes allegations.

“This is a very shameful day for our democratic institution because it has brought immeasurable disrepute to our Parliament,” said CPI leader D Raja about the tapes.

Amar Singh has denied the allegations that he was the key figure in the cash transactions. The Congress too is defending the Samajwadi Party, its new ally.

“All this (the cash-for-votes allegations) has been orchestrated and manipulated by BJP leaders LK Advani, Arun Jaitley and Rajnath Singh,” said V Narainsamy, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs.

(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter and Google+)