Wednesday, May 4 2005 20:28 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Continuing its probe in the Tehelka expose, the CBI today (May 4, 2005) questioned former Samata Party president Jaya Jaitley who is understood to have acknowledged that money was accepted from "some people" for "party funds."

Jaitley, who was questioned for nearly three hours by the anti-corruption unit of the CBI, is understood to have told the agency that she vaguely remembered someone approaching her for party donations, CBI sources said.

She claimed she had referred her to Samata Party leader Srinivas Prasad and after that she had no knowledge, as to what happened to the money or whether any receipt was given for the donations. The former party president said that she had never given any assurance to the two under-cover reporters of Tehelka, who were posing as arms dealers, for clinching a Defence deal, they said.

Jaitley told the investigators that she had told the representatives of the Defence company that if there product was good, they would definitely get the contract.

Jaitley was booked by the CBI on December 6 last year (2004) along with former Major General S P Murgai, Surendra Surekha (Kanpur based industrialist) and Gopal Pajiwal (Rajasthan-based Samata Party leader) under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

A major political controversy had broken out when the Tehelka tapes were made public on March 13, 2001 leading to sacking of the then BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) chief Bangaru Laxman and resignation of George Fernandes as Defence Minister. Jaitley resigned from the party post.