BJP avoids kicking up Bofors kickback dust

From Jal Khambata

NEW DELHI: The ruling Bhartiya Janata Party on Thursday sought
to avoid any direct confrontation with Congress President Sonia
Gandhi by cleverly not kicking up dusts on the Bofors gun
kickbacks and yet remind her about it.

Two of its senior members -- Prof Vijay Kumar Malhotra and
Raghavji (Madhya Pradesh) -- had sought information on status of
the Bofors kickback inquiry through a question in the Rajya
Sabha but the issue was passed over on Thursday as none was
present in the House to ask supplementaries which could have
opened up the pandora box.

A written answer by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee,
however, shows that the government's hands are tied in the
matter. He admitted that "it has not been possible to complee
the investigation mainly due to protracted litigation by some of
the accused in Swiss courts against transfer of documents from
Switzerland to India and other legal steps taken by them."

BJP member Sangh Priya Gautam tried to chide the Congress
members chanting demand for an immediate discussion on
corruption of the Defence Minister that they had forgotten
corruption in the Bofors gun deal. The Congress members,
however, shouted back that they were prepared for discussion
even on Bofors but it were the BJP members who remained absent
to avoid the discussion. END.
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