Image: Indian Express
On Wednesday, the Rajya Sabha witnessed swap of charges over the VVIP chopper scam, with the Congress lacing into the government over its alleged attempt to “vilify” party leaders through “insinuation and innuendo”.
Former Defence Minister, AK Antony ranted the change in the helicopters’ flying altitude and cabin height- which BJP leaders referred to in support of their allegations against the Congress – were decided during Atal Behari Vajpayee government’s incumbency in November 2003, by the Prime Minister’s office.
The ruling party turned on with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar saying an “invisible hand” guided the action or inaction of the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate scrutinizing the case of alleged palm-greasing in the Rs 3,727 crore deal in favour of the Italy based AgustaWestland.
Parrikar said: “The country wants to know who instigated, who supported and who benefited from corruption.” He added, “the inquiry would lay emphasis on the roles of those named in the recent decree by the Milan Court.”
Saying that it was evinced beyond apprehension that there was corruption in the deal, Antony asked the government to take action against those who took money. Said he: “If you have evidence, take action but don’t threaten, don’t blackmail.”
Interceding himself in the short-duration discussion on the subject in the upper house, Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary Ahmed Patel said there was an attempt to malign his party and its leaders and agreed to step down from his public life and resign from the House if charges against him were evinced to be true.
By Isha Kulkarni with inputs from agencies
