NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party’s volte face in conceding that its leaders were beneficiaries of political donations from S.k. Jain, kingpin of the hawala racket and his brothers is unlikely to solve the problems the party is facing since the CBI charge sheet against its president, Mr.L.K. ‘Advani.
‘While the sudden turnabouts meant to be a technical defence against the charge that Mr. Advani gave political donations and not ‘bribes” from Jain, the belated ‘confession’ flies in the face of a statement given to the CBI earlier by none other than the party president himself.
Ina statement formally recorded by the CBI in August 1995, Mr. Advani had denied having even met Jain, let along receiving money from him. But now his own colleague, Ms. Sushma. Swaraj, the party’s spokesman, has suddenly changed tack.
Interestingly, Ms. Swaraj’s stand clearly contradicts the position that the party has taken on the hawala issue so far. Thus far, the party was maintaining that its leaders had not taken even political donation from the Jains.
It is learnt that the CBI sleuths had recorded Mr; Advani’s statement during the interrogation at the latter’s Pandara Park residence in August 1995. The CBI had put two questions to Mr. Advani, whether the latter knows the Jains and whether he had received any money or even political donation from Thom.
Mr. Advani, the ‘Sources said, had categorically denied having received money from the Jains in any form and had refused to even know any of the Jain brothers, His statement is understood to have been submitted to the CBI designated court, with an addition that the CBI then had not believed Mr, Advani and had gone ahead with its investigations against him.
Plus, the CBI has also submitted its ‘own evidences in support of the charge sheet that Mr. Advani had received money, which was equivalent to the foreign currency transactions by the Jains, The Bureau had also checked the political donation register maintained by the Central BJP at its Ashoka Road office and could not locate any political donation made by the Jains between 1988 and 1991, during which Mr, Advani is alleged to have received money, According 10 the sources, Ms. Swaraj’s statement would also fall flat, as the CBT has also submitted a list of political donation made by individuals and companies to the BJP during 198891 as a documentary evidence before the court. There is no room for the party to temper with the party’s political donation records, the ‘Sources said.
This change of tactic on the part of the BIP seems to have been warranted by the sense of realization that the CBI has got the necessary evidence to prove that Jain was no stranger to Mr. Advani.
Ms. Swaraj’s statement also indicates that her party has resigned to a Tate realization that the party leaders had received the money from the Jains.
Article extracted from this publication >> February 7, 1996
