Under attack from the Centre on the chopper deal, the Opposition Congress on Friday squarely blamed the NDA government for the various irregularities in the case.
Under attack from the Centre on the chopper deal, the Opposition Congress on Friday squarely blamed the NDA government for the various irregularities in the case. Stoutly defending party president Sonia Gandhi, Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia said in the Lok Sabha that her name figures nowhere in the matter and claimed that the BJP was afraid of her because she is a “lioness” and if they provoke her then they will be very well aware of the consequences.
“Whenever the name of Sonia Gandhi comes, they start feeling irritated and they are afraid also from her because she is a ‘lioness’ that is why they (the BJP) are afraid of her,” he said, adding that the mention about the “family” was of the Tyagis family and not the Gandhis.
Mr Scindia, who was participating in the calling attention motion on the matter, cautioned the Centre on levelling baseless allegations on the Opposition and instead blamed the government for all the irregularities in the controversial deal, while demanding a SC-monitored probe.
“Do not level baseless allegations. Answer the questions we are raising,” a Congress MP said.
The SC-monitored investigation should happen and its reports should be placed in the House every three months,” the Congress MP from Guna said.
He said it was practice of the BJP members to level wrong and baseless allegations and through that, they want to create an illusion.
“But we too have taken an oath that we will break that ‘mayajaal’ (illusion) and place the facts in front of the country and this House,” Mr Scindia said.
The reality is that this deal was started during the NDA regime in 1999 and the issue they are talking about bringing down the height of the helicopter from 6000 to 4500 metres, it was done by NDA government in 2003 and not the UPA, he said.
In December 2003, a letter was written from the Prime Minister’s Office to change the norms and make it 4500 metres, Scindia said.
The moment the issue came out in newspapers, he said the UPA government wrote to the embassy in Rome that investigation should be done as early as possible.
In April 2012, it was in fact the UPA government which ordered CBI to investigate the matter, Scindia said, adding that the contract was cancelled on February 15, 2013 and a notice was served on AugustaWestland and on January 1, 2014, the UPA government cancelled that contract.
