Nab AgustaWestland culprits, don't level unfounded allegations: Sharad Yadav

Members of the treasury benches should refrain from levelling "unfounded" allegations and creating "tamasha" on the AgustaWestland issue, Janata Dal United (JD-U) leader Sharad Yadav said here on Wednesday.

Participating in the debate on the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal in the Rajya Sabha, Yadav said that corruption in defence deals is a serious issue and the government should tackle it accordingly instead of the ruling party indulging in politics in the name of corruption.

"You have agencies like CBI, ED, Income Tax Department, IB etc at your disposal. Then what is stopping you from taking action against the guilty?" Yadav asked.

"My advice to the ruling party is that instead of creating a scene in the media and elsewhere, you should nab the real culprits who took kickbacks in the chopper deal," he added.

Yadav said it was beyond his comprehension why so many members of the treasury benches are giving out statements on the AgustaWestland chopper issue.

"You are in the government. You have all the constitutional powers and all the investigating agencies at your disposal. Why do you need to rely on a foreign court's judgment to identify the corrupt? And what were you doing for the last two years?" the JD-U leader said.

Earlier, Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Ram Gopal Yadav also raised the same question in the upper house.

"I wonder what has the government been doing for the last two years when the CBI was already probing the matter. Why are you raking up the issue now?" Yadav asked.

--IANS

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