Bofors: CBI contradicts Rajiv’s claim

Contradicting former PM Rajiv Gandhi’s statement in Parliament that there was no middleman in the Bofors deal, the CBI on Saturday said the original contract with the Swedish arms manufacturer did not prohibit the use of agents. Sumit Saxena reports.

Contradicting former PM Rajiv Gandhi’s statement in Parliament that there was no middleman in the Bofors deal, the CBI on Saturday said the original contract with the Swedish arms manufacturer did not prohibit the use of agents.

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On April 28, 1987, Gandhi had told Rajya Sabha, “In January 1986, (Swedish) Prime Minister Olof Palme told me that there are no middlemen.”

But in its application seeking withdrawal of the case against Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, the CBI told Delhi’s chief metropolitan magistrate: “… the original contract between AB Bofors and Government of India does not provide for any prohibition for employment or non-employment of India or foreign agents.”

The case will be heard next on October 9.