Judeo suspects he is innocent

Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Union Environment Minister Dilip Singh Judeo suspects that he did not take the money that caused his ouster from the Union Cabinet. The bribery allegations had come in his way to the chief ministership of Chhattisgarh, a tribal state dominated by Judeos.

Three months after a VideoCD showed Mr Judeo accepting wads of cash in a New Delhi hotel room, he told Breaking News yesterday that he saw Ajit Jogi in his dream.

"He was telling me that I did not take money. 'Those were notes I got from Telgi to pass off as real rupees. I fooled you'. Mujhko badnaam karke tera naam nahin hoga, naqli noton se kaam nahin hoga. He lost the election because he was not honest in even bribing. Imagine I am being framed with worthless pieces of paper," said Judeo.

When asked for reaction, former Chief Minister Ajit Jogi said Judeo was seeing things. "How can a dream be true? In fact dreams are false all the time. Look at my dream. I did not just lose my chief ministership but also the Congress membership. I have been kicked out of the door where 100 crore people of India get justice. Now I am worse than an orphan. How can dreams be true?"

But Mr Judeo said Jogi has been lying because he has a strong suspicion even the whiskey he was offered before the money was offered was substandard.

"He thinks I don't know what Chivas Regal tastes like? The bottle said Chivas Regal but inside, I am telling you, it was some spurious liquor. Ya khuda mere is sawaal ka jawaab to de. Note naqli de par asli sharaab to de." He added that had the booze been "of some standard" he would have at least found out whether the currency was fake.

"Will I never let someone videotape me taking fake notes. Yeh Dilip Singh Judeo hai, Telgi nahin. Monchhon ka sawaal hai."

He also sent a warning to all Congressmen that if next time anyone tried giving him fake currency notes, he will refuse to be videotape. "Main camera off kara doonga," he repeated.

However, in Delhi, central BJP leaders said that they felt vindicated. "We did not expel him from the party. From Day One, we have doubts about the authenticity of the VCD. We knew there was something wrong," Party President Venkaiah Naidu told Breaking News.

Party spokesman Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the pseudo-secularists have nothing to offer. "Even the notes were pseudo. What do you expect from the Caangace (Congress) party."

Party workers in Chhattisgarh brought out a rally to felicitate Mr Judeo and garlanded him with currency notes, and as real as they can be.