BJP leader Jaswant Singh, attacking the Congress on the Bofors issue in the Lok Saba on Thursday, said, “Till you don’t remove this thorn, the poison will continue to spread ... Whatever is happening in the defence sector today is because of this episode. It is a saga of continuing corruption. In matters of corruption, there is no closure.”
He also claimed that Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi was “permitted through government connivance to escape from Delhi”.
Mr Singh demanded that a judicial commission be set up to look into the Bofors issue. The CPI(M)’s Basudeb Acharia demanded that the Bofors pay-offs case be reopened and an independent inquiry be instituted. He also sought the extradition of Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi.
Among those present in the House during Mr Singh’s attack were Congress president Sonia Gandhi as well as party general secretary Rahul Gandhi.
BJP MP Maneka Gandhi too was present and could be heard uttering “Shame” among other things during her party MP’s speech. At one point, when Mr Quattrocchi was mentioned during Mr Singh’s speech, Ms Gandhi remarked that he was allowed to take out money from Malaysia, South America and England.
The Rajya Sabha, too, witnessed uproarious scenes with the House being adjourned thrice in the pre-lunch sitting. Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley said, “There were repeated efforts to cover up. The pace of investigation varied with the colour of the political government in power... we gave a whole burial to the case.”
Forcing the disruption of Question Hour, BJP members shouted slogans like “Quattrocchi ko kis ney bachaya (Who saved Quattrocchi)”, to which ruling Congress members shouted “BJP ney bachaya (BJP saved him)”.
Mr Jaitley said, “... the fact is clear. Somebody got the contract and somebody got the kickback... this man (Mr Quattrocchi) is so powerful. The entire Indian state appeared so helpless... this is a textbook illustration of fraud.”
Responding to the Opposition’s attack outside Parliament, the Congress accused the BJP of raising the Bofors issue whenever Lok Sabha elections approached.
“They (BJP) are in a haste to come to power. They had great difficulty in living without power for years when UPA-I was there, and now they are finding it increasingly difficult with the advent of UPA-II. They should develop the habit of accepting the decisions of the people and the courts,” said AICC general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi.