RLD rubbishes WikiLeaks' claim on MPs being bribed

Dubbing as 'utterly baseless' the latest WikiLeaks claim of Members of Parliament being bribed ahead of the crucial 2008 trust vote, Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh on Thursday said his party had 'openly' voted against the United Progressive Alliance at that time.

"We had opposed the (India-United States) nuclear deal and after talking to MPs from Opposition parties we had decided to vote against the government," Singh told PTI.

He said the RLD had made is position clear days before the trust vote. The former Union minister said as against the claims made in the US cables on the trust vote, his party had three MPs in 2008 and not four.

"Somebody said something and they transmitted it without confirming, it is utterly baseless," Singh said.

The RLD leader said he was open to any probe into the entire issue.

A set of US diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks has said that an aide of Congress leader Satish Sharma allegedly showed a US embassy employee "two chests containing cash" and said Rs 50-60 crore is ready for use as "pay-offs" to win the support of some MPs ahead of a crucial vote of confidence against rhe United Progressive Alliance government over the Indo-US nuclear deal.