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Tehelka had definite plan to fix me: Bangaru Laxman

Laxman resigned on March 20, 2000 after news portal Tehelka.com went public with its expose on alleged corruption in defence deals.

Alleging that the Tehelka tapes were 'tampered', Laxman said, "Events are not in (proper) sequence in the tapes."

When grilled by Tehelka counsel Siddarth Luthra, he said, "Being a nationalist, I was interested in the Rs 50 billion (Rs 5000 crore) investment that the Tehelka reporters, posing as arms dealers, proposed in India, which I believed to be true."

He said Tehelka reporter, Samuel Mathew, was trying to tell him about the bureaucratic hurdles one faced while making investments in India to which he asked them to see the Union finance minister.

"They wanted to invest in civil aviation, power and telecommunication," Laxman said.

"I would bless anyone who comes with Rs 50 billion to my country," Laxman said.

Laxman said he took the Rs 100,000 from the Tehelka team as he could not refuse funds from party sympathisers.

However, the party 'does not take money from those who want favours from the government', he added.

Claiming that he had asked his private secretary Satyamurthi to intimate the party's accountant about the money, Laxman said the accountant had collected the money from his office though he (Laxman) did not insist on an acknowledgment thinking 'it is not necessary'.

When countered that BJP treasurer Ved Prakash Goyal had not made mention of any such donation in his affidavit before the commission, Laxman said, "I have not seen the affidavit."

Admitting that he had made a statement during the conversation with the Tehelka reporters that the prime minister's Principal Secretary Brajesh Mishra used to liaise between the PMO and the party, Laxman said, "It is a statement of fact."

Whenever partymen have problems, they normally ask Mishra to convey them to the prime minister, he said. "But I have never turned to him," he added.

He also alleged that the Tehelka reporters were dropping names, like the prime minister's son-in-law Ranjan Bhattacharya.

PTI

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