The case continues to have political significance as one of the accused was the late Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, who had close family links with the Sonia Gandhi . It was Quattrochhi who introduced Rajiv Gandhi to the Bofors. The corruption scandal was seen as a major factor in Congress's defeat in 1989 Lok Sabha elections. The current re-surfacing of the scam might see all culprits behind the bar.
The scam remained buried for over three decades under successive governments headed by V P Singh, Chandrashekhar, Deve Gowda, I K Gujral and Atal Behari Vajpayi and finally Manmohan Singh ( with Sonia Gandhi at the helm as de facto PM ) under UPA-II.
Even the Judiciary seemed helpless. A bona fide court-monitored investigation was not ordered by the Apex court to get the facts verified on priority so as to bring all those responsible to justice. Delay led to suppression of truth that shook people’s faith in democracy.
With a mass of unimpeachable documentary evidence, this was an Open-and-shut case despite Rajiv Gandhi's persistent denials. In an interview with the BBC, Rajiv claimed that “to the best of my knowledge, there have been no payoffs to Indians.” He pre-empted the sensitive investigation by expressing his “view” that “commissions” to neither the “middlemen” nor “Indians” were paid .
Recall some key events and names of bureaucrats, politicians, extra- Constitutional authorities, which were in circulation in those obscure and morally questionable days.
Bofors’ chief jurist had briefed an official team comprising S. K. Bhatnagar, the then Defence Secretary, P. K. Kartha, the then Law Secretary, Gopi Krishan Arora, the then Special Secretary to Rajiv Gandhi, and N. N. Vohra, then Addl Secy in MOD , later, Secy ( Defence Production ) and Ronen Sen, the then Joint Secy in PMO. The team was assisted by T. K. Bannerjee, the then Joint Secretary (Ordnance) in MOD.
Strangely, according to General K. Sundarji’s revelations published in India Today (September 15,1989), Mr. Morberg was due to come to New Delhi at the head of a Bofors delegation in July 1987 to give the information the Government of India “wanted,” before Rajiv Gandhi who initially himself scuttled the idea (leading to resignation of Arun Singh, the then MOS, Defence).
Involvement of Hindujas brothers and Win Chadha was open secret.
How were charges and proceedings by the trial court quashed by the Delhi high court (M K Chawla) and bail granted to the accused when the Law did not provide for it?Hinduja brothers were given clean chit. Worse, appeal against quashing of chargesheet against the Bofors , was not allowed by the UPA –II government to be challenged in the Supreme court?.
The Principal investigator ( of Bofors scam) Sweden's investigative agency , Sten Lindstrom , in an interview to TV channel , has revealed it all by accusing the late Rajiv Gandhi as the alleged mastermind behind the Bofors cover-up in collusion with Olof Palme , the then Swedish PM.
The Congress has obfuscated discussions in Parliament. Sonia Gandhi terms it as a black day for democracy. Rahul Gandhi predicted that the GOI will not be able to prove anything even after investigating it for another 30 years. No further reaction by them except throwing papers on Speaker (LS)
The country wants answers on the following questions :
(a) How did Rajiv Gandhi enter into a secret understanding with Olof Palme, Swedish PM,who was later killed ? Who, in GOI, pressured the Bofors to give a clean chit to the Gandhis ?
(b) How did the then ruling dispensation manipulate the escape of Quattrochhi by deliberately delaying the exit of CBI officers to London during Cong-led UPA-II?
(c) What was the murky role of steel-frame of bureaucracy of MOF and the Cabinet Sectt in making good the escape of Quattrochhi?
(d) Who ordered de-freezing the Bofors payoffs in London, get the same transferred to Italy ? By the time the CBI reached London and then Argentina, Quattrochhi had crossed over to Italy ?CBI could not arrest him.
(e) Why was the CBI not given permission by DOP&T ( in-charge of CBI) in 2005 to file the SLP in the Supreme court for quashing the judgement of Delhi High court ? Suresh Pachauri was MOS (Personnel) who took orders direct from the Congress supremo, which used to be later legitimised by the de jure PM Manmohan Singh. Interrogation of Principal Secy, Secy and Joint Secy to PM and Suresh Pachauri will give a mine of sensational information?It may be recalled that V P Singh,the then Defence Minister ,resigned under protest.
(f) What are details of Bank Accounts held by late Rajiv Gandhi ( inherited from his mother,late Indira Gandhi) which are now being operated by the Congress supremo?
(g) What is the guarantee that relevant records kept in boxes, have not been tampered with? These boxes were brought from Sweden to India by a Joint Secy of MHA or MOF, without associating the CBI. I am raising the doubt as, certain Directors of the caged parrot had dubious credentials. A P Singh and Ranjit Singh,are in question.They might have helped the UPA-II in fiddling with documents.
(h) The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), while casting doubts on the Government's version of selection of Bofors guns, did little to unravel the mystery of the kick-backs. What next ?
Against this background, it is high time that the boxes are opened in presence of CJI, CBI , forensic experts and the Media. All documents must be kept in public domain for public scrutiny. A court-monitored investigation by the SIT within a pre-determined time frame could be ordered by the Supreme court.
A K Saxena (A retd civil servant)