VVIP chopper deal: Amit Shah trying to create smokescreen with bundle of lies, says Congress

The party further demanded that he apologise for his "politics of deceit"

Congress today trashed BJP chief Amit Shah's charges against Sonia Gandhi and party leaders on AgustaWestland deal, terming them as "deliberate lies", and demanded that he apologise for his "politics of deceit" and attempts to create a smokescreen to "befool the people".

The AICC also asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to tell what connection, if any, his government has with former Air Force Chief S P Tyagi, an accused in the chopper deal case.

Addressing a press conference, party's chief spokesman Randeep Surjewala posed a number of questions to Shah who has dubbed AgustaWestland and its parent company Finmecanica a 'bogus company'.

He asked the BJP chief whether he would ask Modi government as to why it has been "protecting" the same "bogus company" for last two years as CBI and ED investigations have "reached no conclusion".

"Will Amit Shah and BJP answer the people as to why the same 'fraud company' was permitted to be part of Prime Minister's 'Make-in-India' programme and participate in 'Aero India Exhibition'?", he said while releasing purportedly related documents.

Besides, he asked Shah to also answer as to why the same "fraud company" was being given permission by Foreign Investment Promotion Board of Modi government as recently as on October 8, 2015.

"Will Shah also answer as to why the same 'fraud company' was given permission to participate in defence contract as a 'sub-contractor' as also 'supplier to a contracting party' with Government of India by order dated 22.08.2014 of Ministry of Defence?", he asked.

Surjewala dismissed as a "bundle of lies" Shah's claim that the bank guarantee of the defaulting company AgustaWestland was not encashed by the previous Congress government.

"It is again a bundle of lies, aimed at creating a smoke screen and befool the people of India.

"Will Shri Amit Shah tell the country whether it is a fact that Indian government has recovered an amount of Rs 2,068 crore from AgustaWestland as against payment of Rs 1,620 crore besides confiscating three helicopters?", he asked.