The long-buried Bofors scandal that dislodged the Rajiv Gandhi government in 1989 is back to haunt the Congress — the trigger being an exclusive interview of the American detective investigating the scam to DNA, published on October 16, 2017.
Taking note of the interview of private detective Michael Hershman, Union Information & Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani questioned the Congress party's silence on the pay-off scam. Irani told a press conference on Wednesday: "For too long the Congress conveniently kept quiet. It's time they answer what is the involvement of its leaders then and now in the Bofors saga."
Hershman's revelations have opened a fresh can of worms, revealing that Rajiv Gandhi had met questionable bank officials from Pakistan.
Quoting Hershman, former president and CEO of The Fairfax Group, the Union minister said, "He (Hershman) indicated that there are some Congress leaders who then took money in the scam and don't want to be identified."
Earlier in the day, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), taking note of the interview published in DNA, asserted that it will probe the "facts and circumstances" of the Rs 64-crore Bofors gun pay-off scandal in the light of the new revelations.
Irani said that the Hershman revelations have opened up a can of worms. Till now people looked at the Bofors deal from bribery and arms deal angles, but the Hershman interview also highlights the role of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), founded by a Pakistan-origin American citizen, Agan Hasan Abedi.
"Why would Rajiv Gandhi engage with corrupt officials of the BCCI who were known across the world for financial fraud and money-laundering? Why would he give audience to a bank which is being raided for spurious financial activity and money-laundering. That is a huge question. There are many layers that are coming to the fore," Irani said.
The Congress, including its president Sonia Gandhi, was eager to grab undue benefits whether it is a matter of an air ticket upgrade or a scam like the Bofors deal, the minister added.
Alleging that Hershman's interview has brought to life the "sordid saga" of Bofors, Irani said, "The Congress has had a tendency to either bribe or give death threats to people looking into dubious deals involving its leaders."
Quoting from Hershman's interview to DNA, the Union minister said he was asked by then Finance Minister VP Singh to look into the BCCI issue, where he caught on to the trail of the Bofors money. But he was offered a bribe and then issued death threats when he stumbled on the evidence of the bribe.
Irani claimed that the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi shifted Singh to the defence ministry, while Hershman was also asked to implicate Singh.
"For too long the Congress has kept conveniently quiet. It is the time that it answers as to what was the role of Congress leaders then and now," she asked, adding that many of them are still around.
Parrying questions on charges made by the Congress that as Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi had made 100 trips in private chartered flights, Irani said that by doing so, the Congress party was unsuccessfully trying to prove the innocence of its leaders who were involved in the Bofors case and that of Robert Vadra, Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law, who is involved in controversial land deals.
The Congress has "conveniently" not responded to Hershman's claims or even fresh charges against Vadra, she said.
Irani said the Congress should have filed a defamation suit against Hershman if it believed he was wrong, the way Jay Shah, son of BJP president Amit Shah, has filed a Rs 100-crore lawsuit against a news portal over a story on his business enterprises.
You read it first in DNA on Oct 16
Were you offered bribes to stop the investigation?
Yes. Three times. Actually, two times to stop the investigation, and one time to damage the reputation of VP Singh.
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