Rajiv Gandhi was responsible for Bofors scam: Guv
Tribune News Service
Srinagar, May 9
J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik, who had resigned from the Rajya Sabha over the Bofors scandal, said late Rajiv Gandhi was responsible for the scam.
Malik said former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was initially not corrupt, but under the influence of some people, he got involved in the Bofors corruption case.
“..He (Rajiv Gandhi) ultimately was responsible for Bofors (scam),” Malik told reporters after inaugurating traffic grade separators in Srinagar. Malik was responding to a question on the involvement of Rajiv Gandhi in the Bofors scam. Governor Malik said he and Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, the Peoples Democratic Party founder, had at that time quit the Rajya Sabha due to the Bofors case and had fought and formed the Jan Morcha.
“All this means that we accepted that Rajiv Gandhi was involved in the Bofors scandal. Initially, he was good, but then he came under the influence of people and ultimately he was responsible for Bofors,” he added.
When asked if bringing the name of late Rajiv Gandhi was right during elections, Governor Malik said when Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru could be mentioned, Rajiv Gandhi could also be mentioned.
“When Rajiv’s son calls you ‘chor’ (thief), won’t you tell him who he is and what his legacy is?” Malik added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had last week raised a political storm when he had claimed that former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi died as ‘Bhrashtachari No. 1’. Congress had hit back at Narendra Modi.
Locals exempted from tax
- J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik on Thursday said locals would be exempted from paying the tax at Sangam in south Kashmir along the Srinagar-Jammu highway.
- “There won’t be any toll tax on the locals. We have taken up the issue with the Central government,” Malik said in Srinagar.
