Christian Michel's revelation point towards a Gandhi family, says BJP

The BJP on Saturday asserted that alleged middleman in VVIP chopper scam, Christian Michel's revelation about the 'son of Italian lady', 'big man' and 'R' to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), pointed towards the Gandhi family.

Earlier in the day, the Enforcement Directorate told a Delhi court that Michel had named 'Mrs Gandhi', but did not specify in which context the reference was made. "He has also spoken about "the son of the Italian lady" and how he is going to become the "next prime minister of the country."

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar claimed that Congress was a "government of corruption" that compromised the country's interests.

"Revelations by ED shows that there is 'son of Italian lady', 'big man' and 'R' involved. It points towards a family. Congress was a government of corruption that compromised with national security," Javadekar told reporters here.

Echoing similar sentiments, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that truth was revealed and alleged that the top leaders of Congress were now embroiled in corruption.

Training his guns at the Congress, Prasad told ANI: "Today, Christian Michel has taken Sonia Gandhi's name in AgustaWestland case in front of investigating authority. Rahul Gandhi's name has also been taken. Today the truth has been revealed. Congress is involved in so many scams and their top leaders are now embroiled in corruption. The country wants an answer."

The court has sent Michel to a seven-day ED remand. The decision came following ED's demand to probe further about the 'big man' referred to as 'R'.

The AgustaWestland helicopter deal, finalised during the previous government headed by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, got mired in the allegations of kickbacks.

According to the ED charge sheet, Michel had received kickbacks to the tune of 30 million Euros from AgustaWestland for the deal involving the purchase of 12 VIP helicopters. The deal, signed in 2007, was scrapped in 2013 following the bribery allegation.