BJP to target Congress over AgustaWestland deal in Parliament

Expect uproar in Parliament today as the BJP Member of Parliaments (MPs) plans to attack Sonia Gandhi and other Congress leaders on the AgustaWestland chopper deal.

The BJP leaders strategy was chalked out following foreign media reports that an Italian court has convicted AgustaWestland chief Giuseppe Orsi and also claimed that the firm had paid top Congress leaders to bag the Rs. 3,600 crore deal.  The court order also named the involvement of the then IAF chief SP Tyagi.

The AgustaWestland chopper deal was inked during the UPA regime. The counter attack is in a bid to corner the main opposition party which has been paralysing Rajya Sabha on the Uttarakhand affair.

The BJP Parliamentary Party meet also decided to target Congress on the controversial Aircel Maxis deal and the affidavits in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case.

According to media reports, the Italian court judgement states how the firm lobbied with Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her close aides besides the then NSA M K Narayanan and the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Gandhi was described as the "driving force" by the judge behind the deal.

Subramanian Swamy, who took oath as the newly-nominated member of Rajya Sabha and the bete noire of Congress' first family, will rake up the chopper deal issue in the Rajya Sabha for which notice has been given. Meenakshi Lekhi will discuss the issue in the Lok Sabha today.

 

• Sonia Gandhi
• IAF chief
• AugustaWestland