The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday intensified its attack on Congress president Sonia Gandhi by seeking an explanation on the Bofors kickbacks while announcing to take the issue of corruption and scams to the people and the judiciary.
Spokesperson Ravishankar Prasad told reporters, “Ottavio Quattrocchi’s involvement in the payoffs lead directly to the doorstep of Sonia Gandhi.”
Informing that the Bofors issue was discussed at length in the BJP national executive, he said, “We think the way the kickbacks were given, being very clearly established by the income-tax appellate authority identifying Ottavio Quattrocchi, who all of us know had enviable access to the then Prime Minister.”
Charging the Congress Party with trying to cover up the scams, Mr Prasad said, “It was the common view of the party leaders that 2010 was the year of corruption and 2011 may prove to be the year of cover-up.”
The ruling Congress Party wonders how Mr Quattrocchi’s name figures in ITAT order.
Asserting that the first family of the Congress Party needs to explain to the country about the Bofors issue, the BJP leader said that party has decided to take up the issue of corruption at every possible legal forum and mobilise public opinion about corruption of the Congress by organising rallies even at the taluka level.
Clarifying that the BJP was not ready to accept anything less than a JPC, Mr Prasad, however, refused to disclose if party would allow Parliament to function.
The two-day national executive came to an end with the public rally of the NDA on Sunday.
The first day saw a resolution adopted on the Northeast with special focus on Assam.