The Bofors issue on Thursday led to disruption in Lok Sabha with the BJP and Left parties demanding reopening of the graft case and a judicial probe into it.
The Bofors issue on Thursday led to disruption in Lok Sabha with the BJP and Left parties demanding reopening of the graft case and a judicial probe into it.
BJP members trooped into the well following heated exchanges with Congress members, forcing Speaker Meira Kumar to adjourn the House for over 90-minutes.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour, senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh said though "the correct weapon was acquired, it was acquired in a wrong manner .... You (Congress) have paid, we have paid. The nation continues to pay".
"Till you don't remove this thorn, the poison will continue to spread. ... Whatever is happening in the defence sector today is because of this episode. It is a saga of continuing corruption. In matters of corruption, there is no closure," he said, demanding setting up of a judicial commission to probe the issue.
CPI(M) leader Basudeb Acharia demanded reopening of the Bofors pay-offs case, institution of an independent inquiry and extradition of Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi.
Admitting that the NDA had failed to get Quattrocchi extradited after his arrest in Malaysia, Singh said, "Many will say why did you not do it. You have failed, we have failed. But don't consider our failure as your success."
Observing that it gave him "no delight" to raise this issue, he said, "25 years have passed but the storm of Bofors refuses to subside and the guns continue to blaze."
Without naming Rajiv Gandhi, the BJP leader said, "The absence of the late Prime Minister is felt. A promising leader was taken away from our polity."
The reason behind Congress being reduced from its "historic" victory of 404 seats in Lok Sabha in 1984 to 114 in the next elections was Bofors pay-offs deal, he said.
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