In Parliament: Congress fights fire with fire over AgustaWestland deal

Interestingly, the party also questioned whether there was a connection between former Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi, NSA Chief Ajit Doval and Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Nipendra Mishra, who are all part of the Vivekananda International Foundation - a public policy think tank affiliated to the RSS. Tyagi's name features prominently in the 225-page judgement by the Italian Court and he is said to have received cash in favour for the AgustaWestland Rs 3600 crore deal. 

Presenting its defence, Antony said that the procedure to procure 12 helicopters for VVIPs had a Clause of Integrity Pact, which allowed the government to reserve its right to cancel the deal in case of corruption, engagement of middlemen or any other corruption on part of the company. 

Also read- AgustaWestland Deal: BJP to name Sonia Gandhi in Parliament over chopper scam

"That is why, the moment we received from Italy that there is a possibility of involvement of middlemen in this contract, day one onwards - the entire Government of India under UPA went on action. First, it tried through our Embassy in Rome to find out the details of the case and since the contract was with AgustaWestland UK, we pursued with the UK Government with the help of Ministry of External Affairs, but we were not able to get tangible evidence at that time but we did not leave it there, we pursued it," said Antony. 

He further clarified that for the first time in Indian history the government fought a case in Italy and became a party in the Italian Courts in Naples to get records. This allowed the then UPA government to send representatives to observe each hearing of the court. "Besides, we decided to cancel the contract and also the Government ordered a CBI enquiry to find out the truth. When it was proved that there was a middleman, we not only took action to get back the advance but also the Bank Guarantee of the Company,"Antony said. 

He added that after the CBI probe was ordered, the government got more money than it had paid. "We won the case and got entire Bank Guarantee - as a result, we not only got the advance amount we paid to them, we got more money - it is in the statement, we got more money from them, Advance paid plus Bank Guarantee, besides, we cancelled the contract as well," Antony said.

He pointed out that the previous UPA government started the process of blacklisting the company, but the then Attorney General raised some objections, which was followed by Lok Sabha elections leaving little or no space for Congress to pursue the case. 

Meanwhile, the Congress put a brave show and prevented the BJP from hijacking Parliament over the issue. During the second day of the second half of the Budget Session, senior Congress leaders gathered at Sonia Gandhi's residence at 10 Janpath, to strategise for what lay ahead. Speaking to reporters Sonia Gandhi said, "I have done nothing wrong. The government is there for two years, an inquiry is there. Why don't they complete it as early as possible...and impartially?" asked Mrs Gandhi. 

Read more: AgustaWestland chopper scam: Congress is not afraid, let BJP name me, says Sonia Gandhi

Her closest aide, Ahmed Patel said, "Let them hang me if there is an iota of evidence". Patel, like Mrs Gandhi, is referred to in documents that were reviewed by an Italian court before it decided bribes had been paid to Indians. 

In the Rajya Sabha, a mere mention of Sonia Gandhi's name by Subramanian Swamy caused Congress leaders to rush to the Well of the House and disrupt proceedings. Meanwhile in the Lok Sabha, the Speaker Sumitra Mahajan disallowed a discussion on the chopper deal, resulting in the smooth functioning of the House.

Edited by Anna Verghese

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