NEW DELHI – Bofors – the gun deal scam which refuses to die away. Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi lost the 1989 general elections after the scam. Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, who allegedly received kicbacks in the gun deal and the last living accused, was discharged in the case in March 2010.
Law minister Salman Khurshid on Wednesday said the Bofors gun deal was a “closed” chapter, but the BJP and the Left demanded an explanation from the government on former Swedish police chief Sten Lindstrom’s revelations in the payoff scandal.
Khurshid accused the Opposition of making “wild allegations” against Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who was clearly involved in the scandal and was later assassinated like his mother.
The BJP and the Left rejected the government’s stand and demanded an explanation on Lindstrom’s revelations, including the safe passage to Ottavio Quattrochchi, an Italian businessman who was the main accused in the case. The BJP said it had always questioned the safe passage to Quattrochchi.
“The entire government of late Rajiv Gandhi was out to secure Ottavio Quattrochchi. What was his link with the government and with the Gandhi family that the entire government was there to bail him out… it is a serious matter,” said BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad.
The CPI sought the government’s response on Lindstrom’s revelations.
“The government and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) cannot ignore this revelation. They have to come forward with a response on how Quattrochchi was allowed or could go scott free or could have a safe passage from India,” said CPI leader D Raja.
Lindstrom, head of the Swedish police when the Bofors scandal broke in 1987, handed evidence seized during his investigation to Indian newspapers, including to journalist Chitra Subramaniam-Duella. The case revolved around the sale of 410 artillery guns to India by Swedish arms group AB Bofors, which was subsequently accused of paying bribes of up to $1.3 billion.
