Defence minister AK Antony has directed his officials to probe the VVIP helicopter deal and punish the guilty in a time-bound manner, before the 2014 general elections.
According to sources, Antony wants to minimise the damage to the Congress in the 2014 polls because of the controversial deal.
Corruption is set to be a major issue in the next general elections and the alleged chopper scam can add to the woes of the Congress party.
Antony believes that by punishing the guilty the government will be able to show its seriousness in fighting corruption.
The sources explained that “two investigations”—one in Italy and other in India” would be “more credible” than one agency in one country probing the deal.