Hours after Tata Sons levelled a series of allegations against its ousted chairman, Cyrus Mistry on Sunday escalated the boardroom battle with his counter-attack, claiming that firm’s director and former Defence Secretary Vijay Singh played a key role in the Rs3,600 crore AgustaWestland scam.
However, Vijay Singh late on Sunday night vehemently denied Mistry’s allegations, saying, “I was Defence Secretary from 2007-2009 and the present cases being prosecuted by CBI pertain to 2004-2005.”
Earlier on Sunday, Tatas levelled fresh allegations against Mistry, including misleading a search panel for selection of Tata Sons chairman, even as the ousted chief refuted the charges and accused group patriarch Ratan Tata of “eroding the brand and values” with his conduct.
On a series of allegations levelled against him by Tata Sons in a letter to stakeholders of Tata firms, Mistry said, “Repeat a lie a thousand times and hope it becomes a truth, seems to be Mr Ratan Tata’s last-ditch effort to overcome a monumental disaster his actions have unleashed.”
“Amusing to see Vijay Singh concoct theories to defend his role in Ratan Tata’s conspiracy to replace Cyrus Mistry,” said Mistry’s office, adding, “As Defence Secretary, Vijay Singh was key official involved in award of Rs3,600 crore VVIP helicopter contract to AgustaWestland in 2010.”
On charges that “Mistry was doing nothing” at Tata Motors, the ousted chairman claimed that Singh had stated that “Tata Motors has come up with some of their best models in recent years under his watch”.