Government says,PM Modi made no deal with Italy on Agusta Westland case

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Apr 30, 2016: Rebutting allegations that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had struck a deal with Italy on the multi-million dollar AgustaWestland chopper deal, the government on Friday issued a statement saying the central issue was corruption and any other effort to divert from it was "misleading".

"Those who cannot see Prime Minister succeed even hint at him cutting a deal. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not cut any deal of any sort," said the government statement.

The statement said that some had even sought to link one of the accused in the case with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Principal Secretary to PM Nripendra Mishra. "This is a totally baseless assertion, devoid of reason and logic, and indicative of malicious intent. In reality, there is no such connection," it said.

It added that "it is indeed tragic that a small section of the Indian polity has attempted, ’unsuccessfully’, to divert and defuse the public discourse on this matter".

"In the matter pertaining to acquisition of AgustaWestland helicopters, the undisputed central issue that stands out is corruption, especially bribery... Any other line of assumption, approach and effort, as is being attempted in some quarters, is misleading, tries to hide the wrong-doers and is driven by instincts of self-preservation," it said.

The deal for the helicopters, worth 3,600 crores and for the use of VVIPs, went off track in 2013 when Italy arrested the head of Finmeccanica, which owns AgustaWestland, for paying bribes to secure the deal. He was convicted earlier this month.

Italy and India have separately investigated 30 million Euros as kickbacks for the AgustaWestland deal. While Italy has looked at who offered the bribes, the Indian government said this week "it is the identity of the bribe-takers that must be established". Notes and letters exchanged between Finmeccanica executives and middlemen named several leaders of the Congress, which was then in power. These documents were deliberated upon by the Italian court, and attached to its order, which grants them legitimacy, the ruling BJP says.