Fresh revelations in the VVIP chopper scam have raised questions about the role of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in awarding the Rs 3,727-crore contract to UK-based AgustaWestland. The Italian court’s judgment exposes the role of Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh in the AgustaWestland Chopper Deal. The 225-page judgment reveals that Sonia’s Political Secretary accepted the commission of €15 to 16 million ($17 – 18 million) from the middlemen.
The Italian court judgement states, how the firm lobbied with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her close aides besides the then NSA M K Narayanan and the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Gandhi was described as the "driving force" by the judge behind the deal.
Read the Italian court Judgment
The 225-page judgment of the appeal court in Milan has annexed several documents, handwritten notes exchanged between the middlemen on how the total commission of Euro 30 million to be distributed between the India’s political leaders, bureaucracy and Air Force officials.
"Bribe-givers have been convicted. Why are bribe-takers silent? Antony should answer if leaders of Congress are involved in it or not. Are they from your party or not? Please come clean," Telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told a press conference.
"No one should be making loose comments about the Congress president and former PM Manmohan Singh," party deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma said.
"When the primary allegation came out in the media, we immediately ordered a CBI inquiry. We cancelled the contract and fought the case in the Milan court. We won the case and got back all the money we paid in advance by bank guarantee," Antony told reporters.
#ScamQueenSonia is trending in the twitter with thousands commenting on the chopper scam.
By Premji
