BJP renews attack on Congress over AgustaWestland case

According to a news report, the key accused in the ₹3,000-crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal case, Rajiv Saxena, has allegedly made references to former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath’s son Bakul Nath, and his nephew Ratul Puri, along with senior Congress leaders Salman Khurshid and Ahmed Patel, during interrogation.

Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Tuesday said that no defence deals were finalised under the Congress government without “kickbacks” to its leaders. The senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader was reacting to reports of Congress leaders allegedly receiving kickbacks in the AgustaWestland chopper deal.

Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Tuesday said that no defence deals were finalised under the Congress government without “kickbacks” to its leaders (ANI Photo)

“There used to be a paint company Jenson and Nicholson that used a tag line, whenever you think of colour think of us... in the Congress’s case, it is modified to whenever you think of kickback in a military deal or a defence deal think of some Congress leaders,” the minister said.

According to a news report, the key accused in the ₹3,000-crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal case, Rajiv Saxena, has allegedly made references to former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath’s son Bakul Nath, and his nephew Ratul Puri, along with senior Congress leaders Salman Khurshid and Ahmed Patel, during interrogation.

“No defence deal without loot, no defence deal without a kickback and no defence deal without some Congress leaders becoming beneficiary of it has been the go-to policy of Congress leaders,” Prasad told mediapersons, while urging the Congress to clarify its stand on the allegations

Reacting to the allegations, Khurshid said, “Nobody has been able to tell me who said what and in what context. If I knew, I would certainly reply. I don’t think that we should generally reply to anybody who goes around mouthing names of people.”