The BJP has said it will raise in parliament issues related to disclosure that an European middlemen in the VVIP chopper scam had asked a contact in India to "target" the Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and her advisors to clinch the deal, saying it was a repeat of the Bofors scam and the issue will be raised in parliament.
"Money was transacted. There are ample evidence to suggest who the receipients were. We raise it in Parliament most certainly," BJP leader Yashwant Sinha said. The Government will not be allowed to get away with any explanation. "It is a repeat of Bofors deal," he alleged.
According to a document submitted in Italian court, one of the alleged middlemen in the VVIP chopper scam had asked a contact in India to target Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the then NSA MK Narayanan to bag the deal.
Middleman Christians Michel is said to have asked his contact named Peter Fullet to target Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, Pranab Mukherjee, Veerappa Moily, Oscar Fernandes, M K Narayanan and one Vinay Singh for bagging the deal.leader of Oppostion in Rajya sabha and senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley has aid that the disclosure with regard to the Augusta Westland VVIP helicopter deal appeared to be a repeat of what we witnessed in the late 1980s.
"Martin Ardbo's diary was seized. He was head of the company which manufactured the Bofors Gun. Amongst various disclosures, the diary hinted at the protection of 'Q'. Keen observers all knew who this 'Q' could be. In 1993, the Swiss authorities gave details of the bank accounts into which the Bofors kick-backs were paid. The beneficiary of one of the accounts into which significant sums had been deposited indeed was the well known 'Q'. 'Q' was allowed to escape from India and the rest is history," he said.
"Admittedly, kick-backs have been paid in the VVIP helicopter transaction," Jaitley said, adding, " Even the Italian middlemen perceived that important decisions in India were being influenced by Mrs. Sonia Gandhi. The Prime Minister at best is one of the several advisors to her. The middlemen are clever people. They do their home work before coming to conclusions. The abbreviated initials mentioned on the account sheets remind me of Martin Ardbo's diary."
"Mrs. Sonia Gandhi should indeed be worried. How is Government of India perceived by people in India and outsideIJ Is it a Government of gold diggersIJ Has the UPA which she heads subverted India into a kleptocracyIJ Is the Government which she controls a filth machineIJ." he said, adding, " The Government indeed has a very corrupt image. Its performance on the economic front has been disturbing. The final data of 2012-13 have scaled down the GDP growth to 4.5 percent. UPA-II's economic achievements, to borrow Mr. Chidambaram's phrase, can be written on the back of a postal stamp. Recent election results presented a disturbing picture for the ruling combine."
Jaitley said faced with these adversities, the UPA Chairperson has resorted to the last refuge of the desperate. " Her 'poison cultivation' remark is only intended to communally polarize an election which is otherwise being contested on a developmental agenda. Her desperation is understandable," he said.