PM meets ministers before chopper deal debate in Rajya Sabha

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday met his senior cabinet colleagues in the Parliament House premises ahead of the Rajya Sabha debate on the AgustaWestland helicopter deal.

Senior ministers Manohar Parrikar, Rajnath Singh and M. Venkaiah Naidu attended the meeting which reviewed the government's and BJP's parliamentary strategy as all eyes will be on the defence minister's scheduled statement in the Rajya Sabha.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi also held a meeting with party MPs in the morning to fine-tune the party's strategy to counter the treasury benches.

Accepting the challenge from the Bharatiya Janata Party on fresh revelations pertaining to the AgustaWestland chopper deal, Congress president Sonia Gandhi has said "they are most welcome" to present it.

The controversy comes close on the heels of a recent ruling from an Italian court that there is a reasonable belief of corruption in the helicopter deal relating to the purchase of 12 helicopters from Italian manufacturer, Finmeccanica, during the United Progressive Alliance rule.