Congress hit out at Subramanian Swamy during a debate in Rajya Sabha on AgustaWestland chopper deal
Highlights
- Subramanian Swamy accused Sonia Gandhi of being a 'player' in the scam
- Before Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi should be probed by CBI: Swamy
- Last week, Swamy's remarks on Agusta scam were expunged from parliament
During a fiery debate on the AgustaWestland chopper deal in Parliament today, the Congress attacked Subramanian Swamy, the BJP's newest Rajya Sabha member, calling him "diabolical and twisted".
"He suffers from an obsession...that's why he keeps quoting the wrong country. It reveals your twisted mindset. It is diabolical. I cannot come down to your level," Congress leader Anand Sharma said, speaking right after Mr Swamy during a debate on alleged bribes by defence manufacturer AgustaWestland to swing a contract for the supply of 12 helicopters to India.
"Truth and medicine both are bitter but are cures - one for lies and other for disease," Mr Sharma said.
Mr Swamy's debut speech in Parliament was full of indirect attacks at Congress president Sonia Gandhi. "Before even Dr Manmohan Singh, she should be interrogated first by the CBI," he said. Without taking her name, Mr Swamy referred to her as "a super cabinet" and a "higher authority than then PM Dr Singh".
Last week, when Mr Swamy's words were expunged twice in two days, the Congress said "he does not know the difference between street words and Parliament words."
On his first day, Mr Swamy raised the chopper scam and named Sonia Gandhi. He was told that she is a member of the Lok Sabha and could not be named in the Rajya Sabha.
On day 2, while discussing the Aligarh Muslim University, Mr Swamy dragged in a reference to the Italian constitution, provoking Congress fury once again.
An Italian court found last month that Agusta and its parent company Finmecannica paid bribes in India. Documents attached to it refer to Congress leaders and Mrs Gandhi is described as "the driving force" of the government's decision to buy new helicopters; an entry of "AP" was a stand-in for her political secretary, Ahmed Patel, according to Italian prosecutors.
Mr Swamy said that the documents the Italian court referred to mark plenty of ground for the CBI to begin interrogating Mrs Gandhi.