This is a political conspiracy to malign the Congress party: AK Antony on Augusta Westland chopper deal
"NDA Govt has been in power for 2 yrs. But no action taken. Instead of punishing the company, it is being brought back by PM Modi," Antony said.
"Modi Govt has allowed this corrupt company to take part in 'Make in India' & now they are trying to accuse us," he said.
"This is a political conspiracy to malign the Congress party," the former Defence Minister said.
The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday witnessed a ruckus over the AugustaWestland chopper deal as Congess President Sonia Gandhi said she has "nothing to hide" and is not afraid of her name being taken by the BJP.
The BJP tried to pin down the Congress by raking up the controversy in which corrupt deals were made to buy 12 helicopters for top politicians.
Building up an attack against the BJP-led government, the Congress countered the ruling party's notices with one of its
The AugustaWestland chopper deal controversy led to disruptions in Parliament on Wednesday as an aggressive Congress took up the challenge posed by the BJP, countering the ruling party's notices with one of its own.
All hell broke loose in the Rajya Sabha after BJP leader Subramanian Swamy named Congress President Sonia Gandhi in connection with the scam. The enraged Congress lawmakers trooped before the Deputy Chairman's podium and continued shouting in protests.
Unfazed, Sonia Gandhi said she is not afraid.
"We have nothing to hide. Let them take my name, I am not afraid," she said.
An Italian court investigated the contract because Agusta's parent company is Finmeccanica, an Italian defence manufacturer, and decided that vast amounts of bribes were routed to India by company executives to land the deal for 12 VVIP helicopters for about Rs. 3,600 crore.
The deal was cancelled by India in 2014 after the Italians began investigating it, a point the Congress is flashing in its defence along with the fact that AgustaWestland has not been banned by the new government from bidding for new defence deals.
The Congress made its own demand for a discussion on AgustaWestland demanding to know why the defence manufacturer accused of corruption was taken off a blacklist by the Narendra Modi government.
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