Bharatiya Janata Party MP Subramanian Swamy yesterday said Congress president Sonia Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh should be summoned by the Central Bureau of Investigation on the AgustaWestland helicopter case.
“(Going by) the Italian court judgement, Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, Ahmad Patel and Oscar Fernandes should be summoned to the CBI headquarters and asked what they know about this (AgustaWestland helicopter case).
“If they speak the truth, they will have no problem. But if they tell lies, they will have to be prosecuted,” Swamy said.
The Congress hit back at Swamy and asked how he got access to “sensitive” documents that he had quoted in the debate in the Rajya Sabha a day ago, and stated that he has not submitted them to the house.
“There were certain sensitive documents from the ministry of defence, CBI and ED which were read by an honourable member ... less honourable rather, and he had promised to authenticate them,” senior Congress leader Anand Sharma said, in a reference to Swamy.
“Unauthenticated documents were quoted in the debate ... those documents have not been kept on the table of the house,” the Congress leader said.
“The house must know how a member was given access to sensitive government files which he has refused to authenticate until now,” he said.
Deputy Chairman P J Kurien said the member would have to submit the documents as he has been instructed by the chair.
“He will have to comply with it... if it is not complied with, rules will take care,” Kurien said.
The ministry of external affairs has written to Indian missions in those countries to which letters rogatory (LRs) have been sent over the chopper scam.
“I can confirm that we have received a communication in this regard from the CBI seeking an update on the execution reports of the letters rogatory that were sent earlier to eight countries,” ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup said in his weekly media briefing.
LR is a formal request from a court to a foreign court for judicial assistance and taking evidence.
“We have once again written to our missions in the countries concerned from where the execution reports are pending in order to impress upon them the need to expeditiously execute the LRs and to send the corresponding execution reports at the earliest,” Swarup said.
The CBI sent LRs to seven countries - the United Arab Emirates, Britain, Singapore, Switzerland, Mauritius, Tunisia and Italy - as well as the British Virgin Islands, seeking information regarding alleged kickbacks.
Sources said on Wednesday that Italy was the only country to reply to the LR.
“The British Virgin Islands, Tunisia and the UK only gave partial replies. The remaining countries are yet to give any reply,” the sources said.
The chopper deal resurfaced after an Italian court last month referred to Gandhi and Singh among others in connection with the chopper deal.
Meanwhile, the Congress will organise a “save democracy” rally here today to make the public aware about how Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is “damaging institutions,” party leader Jairam Ramesh said.
“It’s aimed to save country’s democracy as states are being harassed, reports of parliamentary committees are being overlooked and nothing is being done for the masses,” Ramesh said.
The rally is to be addressed by Singh, Gandhi and party vice president Rahul Gandhi.
Ramesh said Congress leaders and workers will assemble at Jantar Mantar here and after the leaders finished addressing the rally they will all march to Parliament House.