NEW DELHI, April 28 � Eleven years after having been caught in a sting operation, former BJP president Bangaru Laxman was today awarded four years rigorous imprisonment by a Delhi court for taking Rs 1 lakh as bribe in a fictitious defence deal case, reports PTI.
Holding that �corruption is worse than prostitution� as it endangers the whole society, Special CBI Judge Kanwal Jeet Arora turned down 72-year-old Laxman�s plea for leniency saying �we have to shun this attitude of �sab chalta hai,� where nothing moves without illegal gratification.�
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on Laxman who was taken to Tihar Jail, shortly after he was sentenced. His counsel said they would move the high court to challenge his conviction and sentencing.
This is the first instance of a national party president getting convicted and sentenced to a jail term in a corruption case. By accepting the bribe, Laxman had kept his personal interest above the national interest �ignoring the security of soldiers� who put their lives in danger while fighting for the nation, the court said.
