As the ruling BJP raised the pitch of its attack on Congress president Sonia Gandhi in the alleged bribery in the AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter deal and shot a volley of sharp questions at her, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Sunday said he will place all the facts before Parliament on Wednesday relating to the controversial purchase under UPA regime. He asserted that the former Government cancelled the contract without blacklisting the company.
While both Houses of Parliament are expected to take up the chopper deal this week with the warring parties — the BJP and the Congress — already placing Privilege Notices in the Rajya Sabha, Parrikar gave a curtain raiser by saying that he will tell “how necessary clauses or provisions were relaxed” to suit AgustaWestland company.
Speaking in Panaji, the Defence Minister said he will place all facts along with the detailed chronology about the deal before Parliament on Wednesday. India signed a contract in February 2010 for 12 AgustaWestland AW101 VVIP medium lift helicopters. On March 25, 2013, then Defence Minister AK Antony had confirmed “bribes taken”.
The Rs3,726-crore scam-ridden deal was cancelled on January 1, 2014, on the grounds of breach of pre-contract integrity pact while three helicopters already delivered to IAF.
“Those who received kickbacks will not leave behind the proof for us to prosecute them, but we will have to prove it (that kickbacks were received),” he said. “It is for us to prove everything now. Since the issue would be placed in Parliament, I would not like to speak in detail to media,” the Defence Minister added.
“Why was no action taken against the company till 2014IJ Why was the company not blacklisted by the then UPA GovernmentIJ” Parrikar questioned. “I challenge the Congress to show the UPA Government’s order blacklisting the AgustaWestland company. let them reply first why it was not banned. It was during our (NDA) Government that we banned it,” he said.
AgustaWestland was not blacklisted during the UPA rule, top Modi Government sources had recently claimed, asserting it was the NDA dispensation which had put on hold all acquisition proposals with the VVIP chopper scam-tainted firm. The Congress on the contrary has claimed that the blacklisting process was initiated by the UPA regime and that the time-consuming process got just spilled over to the NDA regime.
The deal went off track in 2013 when Italy arrested the head of Italian conglomerate Finmeccanica, which owns AgustaWestland, for paying bribes to secure the deal. An Italian court, which convicted AgustaWestland chief Giuseppe Orsi, had reportedly described how the firm paid bribes to top leadership in India to bag the Rs3,600-crore deal.
Both Houses of Parliament are likely to witness a high pitch war of words between the treasury and the Congress sides as the BJP have pointedly targeted Congress chief on the issue and sought his answers on the issue.
Meanwhile, Union Minister Jitendra Singh reacted to Antony’s comment that the CBI investigations into the AugustaWestland deal were delayed by the Government. In his retort to the former Defence Minister in the UPA regime, Singh said “they were dictating the CBI” and maintained that the Narendra Modi Government does not interfere in the functioning of the probe agency.
“I think he (AK Antony) has answered the question. He is speaking from the mindset of ten years of UPA rule when they were dictating the CBI what to do. I think somebody should remind them,” Singh told reporters at Jammu.
Antony had said, “They cross-examined all witnesses. At no stage, names were revealed. My question is now CBI is with present Government, ED (Enforcement Directorate) is with present Government. Why delay, if there is evidenceIJ”
In response Singh said, “Modi Government does not interfere in day-to-day functioning of CBI...We have the propriety. We have the discretion to respect the independence and autonomy of the CBI and therefore we do not even enquire into what it is doing and what case is being pursued by it to what extent.”