BJP-Cong tiff intensifies over VVIP chopper scam

ATTACK Subramanian Swamy stokes tempers in RS; Rajnath makes it a poll issue

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi should reveal who received “kickbacks” in a controversial 2010 helicopter deal, BJP president Amit Shah said on Thursday as he attempted to corner the opposition party on corruption charges.

The raging row sparked fireworks in Parliament where BJP leader Subramanian Swamy’s remarks linking Gandhi to the Agusta Wesland deal were expunged for the second straight day and the Rajya Sabha member rapped for the comments.

In West Bengal, home minister Rajnath Singh attempted to make the graft allegations an election issue. “Where are those who received the kickbacks? Who were in power at that time? They are responsible and they should bring out the truth,” Shah said.

The strong remarks underline the BJP’s strategy of pushing the Congress on the back foot after the opposition party stalled Parliament repeatedly over the past two sessions and hurt the government’s reform agenda.

The charges over the VVIP chopper deal erupted two days ago when documents in an Italian court referenced middlemen mentioning top Congress leaders, including Gandhi and former PM Manmohan Singh.

A subsidiary of I t alian defence major Finmeccanica, Agusta Westland allegedly paid around ` 375 crores as bribe, a revelation that led to the agreement being scrapped by the then UPA government in 2014.

The BJP alleges the bribe was paid to top Congress leaders and is attacking the opposition party inside and outside Parliament at a time when assembly elections are going on in four states.

In the morning, Shah criticised Gandhi’s remarks a day before when she had said she “wasn’t afraid” of the allegations, saying her mindset was the reason behind such scams. “When the National Herald corruption case happens, you say you do not fear anybody. When the Agusta Westland case occurs, you say you do not fear nobody... I want to tell her that we in the BJP are afraid of the Constitution, rules and public norms,” he said.

In West Bengal where the BJP is locked in an uphill three-way battle, Singh used the allegations to attack the Left-Congress alliance. CONTINUED ON P8