Rajiv’s name "dragged in"
CWC calls it political vendetta
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Oct 23 — The Congress Working Committee today charged that the newly-installed coalition government at the Centre had filed the charge sheet in the Bofors case with the sole objective of ‘denigrating Rajiv Gandhi and the Congress Party’’.

In a statement issued here the CWC, the highest policy making body of the Congress, said "with no evidence to substantiate the charge, the name of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, has been dragged in. This smacks of political vendetta’’.

The Congress party also warned the government that this act of ‘’maligning and vilifying Rajiv Gandhi and the Congress Party will not be tolerated by millions of Congress men and women throughout the country’’.

The possibility of the party stalling the proceeding of Parliament on Monday, when the House resumes its sitting cannot be ruled out, party sources said.

Briefing the media, the party spokesman Mr Kapil Sibal, said the fact that the prosecuting agency had named Rajiv Gandhi but decided not to try him showed that the government wanted to make ‘’political capital’’ out of it.

The party also said that the timing of the charge sheet was preceded by events in the recent times including election of Mrs Sonia Gandhi as the Leader of the Opposition.

Mr Sibal also denied that the Gandhi family had any close relations with Italian business man, Ottavio Quattrocchi, who has been chargesheeted by the CBI in the case.

Asked for his reaction to Mr Advani’s comment in Ahmedabad today that the government was motivated to file the charge sheet by its commitment to battle corruption in high places, Mr Sibal said the party hoped the government would do so in scams raised by the Congress recently.

"We hope they show the same enthusiasm with regard to scams like oilgate, sugargate, wheat scam and telecom scandal’’, Mr Sibal said.

Mr Rajesh Pilot, CWC member, who was also present said the government should have taken the House into confidence on the Bofors papers since Parliament was in session. ‘’We have the right to know’’.

Meanwhile, the CWC which met here yesterday and today had been discussions on the worst-ever poll debacle of the party in the recent general election.

While most CWC members have been presenting their analysis, the body is not expected to arrive at any conclusion as it awaits the report of the A K Antony Committee set-up for the purpose.

The Antony committee will hold the introspection session from tomorrow and will later tour the states before preparing a report. The Committee has been asked to submit its report by next month end.

Meanwhile, the CPM Politburo has said the party has always maintained that the Bofors gun scandal which involved payment of kickbacks must be thoroughly investigated and all those guilty must be prosecuted.

The CPM said it must be noted that the charge sheet has been filed before the final set of Bofors papers have been received from the Swiss authorities.

"Everyone knows that the big business house of Hindujas, who are close to present regime, has tried everything to block the release of the papers to India,’’ it said adding that the CBI must pursue the case against the Hindujas and others involved without further delay.

Fresh chargesheet likely: Advani

AHMEDABAD, Oct 23 (PTI, UNI) — Union Home Minister L.K. Advani today said the CBI might file fresh charge sheet in the Bofors gun deal payoff case.

The CBI had yesterday charge-sheeted Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, former Defence Secretary S.K. Bhatnagar, NRI businessman Win Chaddha and two others for their alleged involvement in the case.

Mr Advani told reporters here that "some papers are yet to arrive from Switzerland and the investigation into the kickback needed to be followed up".

Referring to a London-based NRI industrialist family, the Union Home Minister said "to the best of my knowledge some accused in the case were trying to stall the investigation. They will, however, not succeed".

"With the CBI filing the first-ever charge sheet in the Bofors payoff case, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has demonstrated its resolve to bring the long-delayed probe into this most significant corruption scandal in the Indian political history to its logical and speedy conclusion," Mr Advani said.

Reacting to Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s charge that the charge sheet was "politically motivated", he said: "Yes, the charge sheet filed in the Bofors case is politically motivated. It is motivated by our commitment to battle corruption in high places. The CBI’s first charge sheet is not a joke, but a political and legal triumph in the ongoing fight against corruption."

Mr Advani said the charge sheet case was ready about two months ago but Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was not in favour of it being filed in the midst of the election campaign.

Mr Vajpayee’s contention was that, we do not want political benefit out of this in the elections. It is right that, whichever government comes to power with the proper mandate of the people, should give the CBI the necessary directions to file the charge sheet," he remarked.

In New Delhi, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) demanded the "immediate prosecution" of the Hindujas and all others allegedly involved in the Bofors kickbacks case.

Regretting the delay in prosecuting the accused in the case, the party politburo said in a statement here today that the big business house of Hindujas and others had been trying their best to delay prosecution by preventing important case documents from reaching the government.