BJP raking up Bofors case to hide its irregularities in Rafale deal: Cong leader

Senior Congress leader Anant Gadgil Tuesday alleged that the BJP was raking up the Bofors the case even after 30 years to hide its irregularities in the Rafale deal.

Late Rajiv Gandhi did not mislead the Supreme Court over Bofors as the present regime did regarding Rafale deal, he said. Gadgil, who is the party's spokesperson, said that in April 1987 late Rajiv Gandhi told the Lok Sabha that if the names of alleged middlemen in the Bofors deal were given by the opposition, his government would punish them.

"The opposition had demanded a JPC probe, which the then government accepted," he said. He recalled that the JPC had scrutinised several documents and did not find anything suspicious. "If a JPC was appointed for Bofors, why is the BJP scared of doing the same for Rafale?" he asked. Gadgil said after the Kargil war, many defence personnel said Bofors guns were the best.

"I am told that there were more than 50 cars and 15 two-wheelers in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's convoy during his Mumbai visit today. If that is true, why are the Congress' critics are silent on this?" he asked. "Dr Manmohan Singh did not have so many cars in his the convoy," he said.

(With inputs from agencies.)