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BJP refutes Congress’s charge of slowdown in AgustaWestland probe
Union Law Minister D V Sadananda Gowda made it clear that the government did not want to name anyone without conclusive proof. “I do not want to make any statement against anybody...unless I get conclusive proof,” he said, when asked whether former defence minister A K Antony was linked to the issue or not.
Dismissing the Congress’ charge of slowdown in the AgustaWestland chopper deal probe under the NDA regime, Union Law Minister D V Sadananda Gowda on Friday said CBI was saddled with many pending cases and that the government could only request it to speed up.
“CBI is an autonomous body and the Centre cannot give it any directions. We can only request them to speed up the probe as many cases are pending,” he told a meet-the-press organised here.
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“We can tell CBI to speed up the matter. We cannot ask them to place the report by a particular time. That is not possible,” Gowda, a senior BJP leader, said on Congress questioning what the NDA government was doing in the last two years.
The Defence Ministry has already taken up the issue. “They are going into it. I hope within a week or 15 days...the result will come out”, he said, when asked why the Centre was reluctant to reveal the names of bribe takers.
He also made it clear that government did not want to name anyone without conclusive proof. “I do not want to make any statement against anybody...unless I get conclusive proof,” he said, when asked whether former defence minister A K Antony was linked to the issue or not.
The “conclusive” evidence would come when CBI files its report, he said.
Gowda also said persons who gave bribe were inside jail and the “persons who received the bribe are here and there”.
