Congress, BJP hand-in-glove on AgustaWestland: Trinamool

As the Congress and the BJP traded charges in parliament on the AgustaWestland deal, Trinamool Congress leader Sukhendu Sekhar Roy on Wednesday questioned if the two parties were hand-in-glove in the scam, as the probe could not be concluded during the regime of either of the two parties.

Several members also questioned why the issue was being debated in the Rajya Sabha when there was no conclusive evidence, and the country is facing severe problems like drought.

"(A.K.) Antony was defence minister for 14 months after the scam, took no action against even a single person. This government has been in power for two years, they also did not arrest anyone... The question is are the Congress and the BJP hand in glove in this scam?" said Roy, while participating in the debate on the AgustaWestland deal.

Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader Sharad Yadav said the probe should have been allowed to conclude before debating it.

"The government should probe the case and then come to the house. This drama should be stopped. There are many other serious problems in the country," Yadav said.

"How many statements are you giving, specially the treasury benches? You have forces, investigation agencies, ED, still you are beating drums... There is no substance in this case," he said.

On similar lines, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati also said that issues like drought faced by the country were more important.

"The house did not function over this issue for two days. Our country is facing several problems right now, specially drought is a major problem. All these issues were sidetracked. Even the CBI has not given any report yet. We feel the issue is being politicised," she said.

She said the probe should be monitored by the Supreme Court because the ruling party may misuse the CBI.

"There have been several arguments from both the ruling party and the Congress. Charges are being traded from both sides inside and outside the house. But since the final probe report has not come yet, it would have been better if the debate was held after that," said Mayawati.

"Our party feels the probe in the case should be monitored by the Supreme Court. We feel there is something fishy because nothing has come out so far.

"We say that also because it has been felt that the CBI has been politicised in the last few years, and the ruling party misuses it," she said.

Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav said that reports of scams in defence affect the morale of soldiers and the issue should be sorted out.

"It there a matter, sort it out as soon as possible, don't politicise and sensationalise it," he said.

--IANS

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