New Delhi, Sept. 19: Ram Jethmalani, senior counsel for Amar Singh, did a U-turn today when he told a Delhi court that Congress leader Ahmed Patel was the source for the money in the July 2008 cash-for-vote scam.

Patel is the political secretary to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.

While arguing for his client’s bail on Monday, he termed Patel the “bribe giver”, which was a clear shift from his earlier statement in which he had told the court that the BJP was the “likely” source of money in the scandal.

“BJP leader L.K. Advani said he had organised the sting operation. If the money was waved (in the Lok Sabha) by the three BJP MPs, the source of money is likely to be from the BJP. I am not prejudicing anybody’s case. Also, it is not alleged in the chargesheet that Amar Singh provided the money,” Jethmalani, who is also a BJP MP in the Rajya Sabha, had told the court on September 12 while seeking interim bail for Singh on health grounds.

The court extended the interim bail of Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh, who was arrested on September 6 in connection with the scandal, till September 27.

The senior counsel today said there was no prima facie case against Singh.

“The place where the bribe was received was not Amar Singh’s home but Le Meridien Hotel. The person to pay the bribe was not Amar Singh but obviously Ahmed Patel, an MP and a very influential member of the party whose government was to be saved,” said Jethmalani.

“I am not suggesting that Patel, on this piece of evidence, should be convicted but if you are influencing MPs of other parties on behalf of your party, then you are the bribe giver,” he added. He said Amar Singh had nothing to do with the conspiracy.

“Whoever planned the conspiracy wanted to save the ruling government from the no-confidence motion,” he said.

Extending Singh’s interim bail, which was to expire on Monday, special judge Sangita Dhingra Sehgal said the terms and conditions of the bail would remain the same as those laid down by the court on September 15.