BJP sources have said that Congress leaders are expected to find mention when Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar makes a statement in Parliament tomorrow on the AgustaWestland.
Highlights
- Defence Minister to make a statement on the scam in Parliament tomorrow
- 'New revelations' likely, Gandhis may be targeted directly: BJP sources
- Rs. 3,600 crore deal for VVIP choppers cancelled after signs of kickbacks
Retired Air Chief SP Tyagi, accused of helping Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland win a Rs. 3,600 crore chopper contract by tailoring specifications, could not have acted alone, Union minister Gen VK Singh has said.
"It is a long process. Only one man cannot be involved. It's a big line. Let us not try and put a curtain and say that it was only Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi. There are many more people," General Singh, former Army chief, told NDTV.
"There is an inquiry to be done, let it be done and we will know the facts," the minister said when asked if he suspected the direct involvement of top Congress leaders in the chopper scam.
BJP sources have said that Congress leaders are expected to find mention when Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar makes a statement in Parliament tomorrow on the AgustaWestland scam. Expect "new revelations" in the minister's statement, the BJP sources said, adding that the Gandhis may be targeted directly.
Congress leaders, including party chief Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, are mentioned by name in documents that an Italian court used to conclude last month that bribes of up to 30 million euros (Rs 226 crore) were paid in India for the AgustaWestland deal for 12 helicopters.
The court does not indict the Congress leaders for any wrongdoing. But the BJP alleges that the Italian verdict exposes how the Congress, then in power, colluded with Agusta.
The party has also attacked Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi demanding that he explain how Guido Haschke, a middleman in the Agusta deal served as a Director in 2009 for real estate developer Emaar-MGF, promoted by the family of Mr Gandhi's close aide Kanishka Singh.
The 225-page order of the Italian Court says that payoffs were made to Indian officials and that there are "unmistakable indications regarding corruption of an Indian officer," a reference to former air chief Tyagi, who was questioned for over 10 hours yesterday by the CBI.
The Agusta deal was signed in 2010 and was cancelled in 2014, after the allegations of corruption surfaced. The CBI says Air Marshal Tyagi and his brothers were meeting middlemen since 2004 as soon as it became clear that he would be chief.