Mr Kulkarni as the mastermind of the cash-for-votes operation. Mr Kulkarni's lawyers said the BJP was always kept in the know about the "sting operation." Mr Kulkarni said, "Our intention was to expose the most shameful episode of corruption of purchase of opposition and independent MPs to influence their vote in Parliament so that the government that has been reduced for minority survived," said Mr Kulkarni, who in 2008 was a senior advisor to BJP leaders like LK Advani. "I believed and I continued to believe that if our members of Parliament... if our MLAs are purchased like this by giving them 10 crore, 20 crore... then India's democracy would be in grave danger," he added.
