The astonishing revelation that he was the “main Indian negotiator” for a massive aircraft deal is contained in the latest tranche of obtained by WikiLeaks and accessed by The Hindu.

According to the newspaper, Gandhi became the negotiator for the Swedish company Saab-Scania, when it was trying to sell its Viggen fighter aircraft to India in the 1970s, much before he became the prime minister.

Rajiv Gandhi. File pic