Mounting a scathing attack on the Congress, for the second time in parliament this week, defence minister Manohar Parrikar produced reams of documents to show that Agusta choppers were not at all fit for flying VVIPs and that UPA was involved in articulating the corruption.
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Parrikar took a jibe at Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi and said: “Abhishek Manu Singhvi nearly convinced me by his argument, now I understand how convincing he is”.
Confrontation over the VVIP chopper deal escalated today with the Government vowing to track down the main beneficiaries of the kickbacks so that we can do what we could not do in Bofors, even as the Congress said it is ready to face a probe that is monitored by the Supreme Court. “They have to give the answers to this”, the Congress member said. “We are seriously investigating the case”, he added.
Anurag Thakur (BJP) said the way Defence Minister has put his points, truth will come out about “who all have taken the bribe.
He insured himself with this comment”, Parrikar said referring to the then defence minister A.K. Antony.
The TMC MP said: “we are saddened… and are walking out of Rajya Sabha”.
“I thought, if I raise it (the deal) now, the (Indian) air force (pilot) shortage, which has come to 164, would have gone up to 1,000”, the minister said.
On the issue of an alleged meeting between Prime Minister Modi and his Italian counterpart, he said while the External Affairs Ministry has denied that “there was any formal meeting, it has not refuted any brush off meeting, brush on meeting, informal meeting, tea meeting, coffee meeting”. “I’m looking for good translators – (I wonder) if you can tell me about good Italian translators, because they are very hard to find”, Parrikar said. “I have never seen that a tender submitted by one company is given to some other company”, he said.
Further taking on the grand old party, the UPA government knew about the scam in February 2012 but still three helicopters were delivered in December, 2012. Ram Gopal Yadav (SP) said bureaucrats were terrified of signing off on any defence contract bringing needed procurements to a standstill. “What we could not do in Bofors, we will be able to do in the AgustaWestland case”, Parrikar said. “Answer this… why Finmeccanica was invited to participate in a Make in India programme”, he asked.
At the AICC briefing, party spokesman Jyotiraditya Scindia said that the party was all for debate on the issue in both Houses of Parliament to clear the air on the matter.
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Deputy Chairman P J Kurien said the ruling was given by the Chairman and he cannot say anything on it. “Ruling of Chairman cannot be questioned, ruling of the Chair cannot be discussed”, he said.
