Bofors resurrected: Congress on the mat over Quattrocchi

The Bofors ghost returned to haunt the Congress yesterday with former Swedish police chief Sten Lindstrom giving a clean chit to the late Rajiv Gandhi in the payoff scandal but also saying that he just ldquowatched the massive coveruprdquo and the guilty Italian Ottavio Quattrocchi got away The sensational disclosures by the original whistleblower of the bribery scam of the late 1980s gave fresh ammunition to the BJP and the Left with both demanding an explanation from the government The BJP also decided to pin the government down in parliament Then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and several others were accused of receiving kickbacks from AB Bofors for winning a bid to supply India 155 mm field howitzers Yesterday the issue was resurrected as in an interview to a website Lindstrom said there was no evidence to show that Gandhi had taken a bribe in the Rs 1500 crore gun deal ldquoBut he watched the massive coverup in India and Sweden and did nothing Many Indian institutions were tarred innocent people were punished while the guilty got awayrdquo he said The evidence against Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi ldquowas conclusiverdquo he said adding ldquoNobody in Sweden or Switzerland was allowed to interrogate himrdquo Lindstrom also said that the case against actor and then Congress MP Amitabh Bachchan and his family was planted in Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter by Indian investigators In another damning revelation Lindstrom said they had barely met Indian investigators ldquoCan you imagine a situation where no one from India met the real investigators of the gun dealrdquo he asked The interview gave the opposition the leverage it was looking for against the Congressled UPA regime The BJP again alleged that Quattrocchi was close to the Gandhi family and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and sought the governmentrsquos apology for letting him go free ldquoThe entire government of late Rajiv Gandhi was out to secure Ottavio Quattrocchi What was his link with the government and with the Gandhi family that the entire government was there to bail him out it is a serious matterrdquo said BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad ldquoThe role of Quattrocchi should be probed by an independent agency and so should be the role of the CBI officials who said there was no evidence against himrdquo said Prasad The Communist Party of India CPI agreed ldquoThe government and the CBI cannot ignore this revelation They have to come forward with a response on how Quattrocchi could go scotfree or could have a safe passage from Indiardquo said CPI leader D Raja The Congress retorted that parties who had misled the nation on the issue should apologise instead Accusing the opposition of making ldquowild allegationsrdquo against Gandhi union Law Minister Salman Khurshid said ldquoIt is a matter of regret that without having any proof such serious charges were levelled The same people are not ready to feel sorry even today They should apologise before the publicrdquo He added that it was a closed case and there was no need to reopen itu00a0 Big relief The Bachchans said they had been vindicated ldquoWe knew the truth 25 years back but justice takes its own time and our stand has been vindicatedrdquo said Rajya Sabha MP Jaya Bachchan While Amitabh Bachchan who was an MP at the time said the accusations had led to years of ldquoanguish of petulant blamerdquo ldquoNo one shall be able to understand or even remotely fathom the hours and days and months and years of the anguish of petulant blame that I had to go through But will it really interest another No it shall notrdquo Bachchan wrote on his blog April 16 1987 Swedish Radio claims Bofors paid kickbacks to top Indian politicians to secure the deal Timeline March 24 1986 A 15 bn contract between the Indian government and Swedish arms company AB Bofors is signed for the supply of 155 mm Howitzer field guns July 30 1993 Italian businessman Quattrocchi leaves India to avoid arrest Jan 30 1997 CBI sets up special investigation team for the case Feb 4 2004 Delhi HC clears Rajiv Gandhi of involvement in the scandal March 4 2011 A Delhi court allows the CBI to drop all charges against Quattrochhi and to close the case April 24 2012 Former Swedish police chief Sten Lindstrom reveals he was the Deep Throat He says therersquos no evidence of Rajiv Gandhi or Amitabh Bachchanrsquos involvement in the scamu00a0