Rao, JMM leaders had "understanding" on motion: Mahato

According to the “understanding”, Suraj Mandal was supposed to speak on behalf of JMM, raising the issue of Jharkhand area council dispute and the prime minister in his reply would give an assurance to resolve it, he said.

“We were told by Suraj Mandal that this understanding has been reached after the prime minister promised to pay us money,” Mahato said, disagreeing with the suggestion of Rao’s counsel R K Anand that he had given “false” statement about payment of money.

Rao, in a meeting with “four of us” on July 26, 1993, two days prior to voting on no-confidence motion, said “You help me and in return I will help you,” Mahato said.

He refuted the suggestion of defense counsel that the whole “bribery controversy” was “cooked up” by lawyer Ram Jethmalani to “implicate” Rao in retaliation to filing hawala case against BJP president L K Advani.

Mahato refuted the defence charge that he was being used as a “pawn” by BJP and Ram Jethmalani and his mentioning the name of Congress president Sitaram Kesri in his confession was a part of this “gameplan” of BJP.