BJP has links with Agusta: Congress

‘Why did Prime Minister Modi permit a blacklisted company to bid for 100 naval utility helicopters?’

December 30, 2018 05:57 pm | Updated June 09, 2020 12:26 pm IST - New Delhi

Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala addresses a press conference in New Delhi on December 30, 2018.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala addresses a press conference in New Delhi on December 30, 2018.

Launching a counter-offensive on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government over the AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter case, the Congress on Sunday said, “The new government at the Centre in 2019 will investigate the nexus between the Italian helicopter manufacturer and the Modi government.”

The Congress’s communication chief, Randeep Surjewala, said the Modi government was the “benefactor, protector and supporter” of AgustaWestland, pointing out that after the BJP came to power at the Centre, the Defence Ministry had lifted the ban on the firm imposed during the UPA rule. The government had even allowed the Italian firm to bid for 100 naval utility helicopters, he said.

“Why did Prime Minister Modi permit a blacklisted company like AgustaWestland to bid for 100 helicopters for Indian Navy? Modi ji , why did your government remove AgustaWestland and its parent company Finmeccanica from the blacklist?” Mr. Surjewala asked.

The Congress offensive came a day after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday told a Delhi court that the alleged middleman in AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam, Christian Michel, now in custody, had passed on a paper containing questions on “Mrs. Gandhi” to his counsel Aljo K. Joseph, a former Youth Congress office-bearer.

“Christian Michel’s lawyer and his sister made statements in July 2018, when he was in custody in Dubai, that the Indian Prime Minister and ED were pressuring him to make a false and fabricated statement against Congress leadership while he knew nobody in the Gandhi-Nehru family,” Mr. Surjewala said.

“A conversation that happens between a lawyer and a client...; we have nothing to do with it. If there is any evidence, why are they hiding behind some fake or vague innuendo? Why don’t they place that evidence in public domain?” the Congress leader added.

“They will have to face investigation and the link of Modi government to AgustaWestland will be investigated for sure, once the government changes in 2019,” the Congress chief spokesperson said. Mr. Surjewala also said that it was the UPA government that had cancelled the mutli-crore contract.

‘Kangaroo court’

Former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram commenting on the ED statement in a series of tweets said: “If government, ED and the media have their way, in this country cases will be tried on TV channels. Further, the Criminal Procedure Code and the Evidence Act will not apply. What ED says will be oral evidence, any piece of paper ED produces will be documentary evidence, and what the TV channel pronounces will be the judgment.” “Even kangaroo courts hold trials in a courtroom. Our new ‘improved’ system will surpass kangaroo courts and deliver justice on TV channels,” he said.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.