The man who accused former Conservative MLA Naresh Bhardwaj of attempting to bribe him in a nomination race claims this private information was only made public because someone within the Tory party leaked it to the media.
In a statement of defence filed last week, Balvir Sidhu alleges he swore an affidavit detailing how Bhardwaj offered him a $10,000 bribe to renege on his formal support for the nomination of another Tory candidate in Edmonton-Ellerslie.
Sidhu claims he only provided the affidavit to three party executives. Bhardwaj sued Sidhu for defamation in March after a newspaper obtained the affidavit and published the bribery allegations.
Bhardwaj left cabinet, and later the nomination race, after the Tory party announced it was conducting an investigation into the bribery allegation. Edmonton police are also investigating.
Bhardwaj has strongly denied the allegation and the internal Tory party investigation effectively cleared him.
The statement of defence alleges that if Sidhu made any “false, defamatory, or malicious” statements against Bhardwaj, they “were only made or published to the members of the (party) executive” who received his email alerting them to Bhardwaj’s actions.
“This publication to the (party) was made only to attempt to protect the integrity of the democratic process in Alberta as well as to protect the interests of the (party),” the court document states.
Sidhu’s statement of defence also alleges he emailed former premier Jim Prentice about Bhardwaj’s attempt to bribe him, but did not receive a response.
Bribery allegation repeated
The statement of defence repeats Sidhu’s earlier bribery allegation against Bhardwaj.
Sidhu claims Bhardwaj and an associate came to his house on Feb. 15. They showed Sidhu the nomination papers he had signed for Bhardwaj’s challenger, Balraj Manhas, and then presented Sidhu with a pre-written affidavit, the document alleges.
“Mr. Sidhu did not read the affidavit but understood that it stated he had never signed Mr. Manhas’ nomination papers,” the court document states. “Mr. Sidhu understood that the affidavit would be used to disqualify Mr. Manhas from the nomination race.”
The statement of defence alleges Bhardwaj then offered Sidhu $10,000 to sign the affidavit, which he refused.
Sidhu claims he emailed Prentice and the three Tory party executives only days later, after he heard Manhas had been disqualified from the nomination race.
None of the allegations in the statement of defence have been proven in court.
On Mobile? Read the statement of defence here
