With a major embarrassment for UPA government, the name of President Pranab Mukherjee has mentioned in facesheet prepared by government over the Italian AgustaWestland Chopper Deal Scandal.
In the fact-sheet, it has stated that the controversial VVIP Chopper deal was finalised during Mr Mukherjee’s tenure as Defence Minister in 2005 when SP Tyagi was Air Force Chief.
Sources said, UPA has put the blame on NDA during that regime the deal was cleared as well as two governors – former SPG chief Bharat Vir Wanchoo and MK Narayanan, who along with Mukherjee were key decision makers with regards to finalising the deal with Italian defence firm Finmeccanica for supplying 12 choppers for the use of VVIPs.
Now the question is that will the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) question Mr Mukherjee, following the Constitutional immunity bestowed on him.
Meanwhile, the Defence Ministry raised a warning to take all possible legal and administrative action against the guilty parties after a thorough probe by CBI.
The then National Security Advisor Brajesh Mishra also named in UPA facesheet, accusing to wrote to Mr Mukherjee that the existing rules were unfair as it allowed only single bidding and that the qualifying height of the choppers should be reduced from 18,000 feet to at least 14,000 feet, sources said.
Mishra also met the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, urging to change the norms to include more bidders and deal was shift from eligible Eurocopter to AgustaWestland.
However, the change in the norms of tender in 2003 has also been accepted by Former Air force chief SP Tyagi who accused by Italian investigating agency for taking bribes and being the beneficiaries of kickbacks to favour contract to the AgustaWestland.
BJP leader and a member of the then Vajpayee cabinet, Jaswant Singh also accepted the changes during NDA regime, but said that it in itself was not a crime.
