In a massive blow to the BJP, the outfit’s former president, Bangaru Laxman, was awarded four years’ rigorous imprisonment on Saturday by a Delhi court for taking a bribe of `1 lakh in a fictitious defence deal.
The verdict was delivered 11 years after Bangaru Laxman was caught on camera accepting the bribe in the fictitious deal. The court also imposed a fine of `1 lakh, the amount he accept as a bribe for the fictitious deal. This is the first time that a former president of a national party has been convicted and sentenced to a jail term in a corruption case for accepting a bribe in his office chamber. Laxman was sent to Tihar Jail immediately after the verdict was pronounced.
The BJP quickly distanced itself from Laxman, saying that the “liability here is personal and does not involve the party”. BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said: “The sentence is a part of the legal process. He will appeal against it. The liability here is personal and does not involve the party.” Mr Prasad also pointed out that “when the incident occurred, the party removed him the same evening. He has not been given any important post since then.”
The Congress, targeted relentlessly by the Opposition, particularly by the saffron camp for various corruption cases, hit back. Congress spokesman Raashid Alvi said: “It’s time for the BJP to introspect and rethink its organisation.” He, however, added that the Congress “was not looking at the situation with any sense of happiness”.