Chopper deal: CBI wants to quiz Bengal, Goa governors

Law Ministry had said constitutional posts gave them immunity from prosecution under Article 361 of Constitution

The Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) has clarified to the law ministry that it wants to question Governors of West Bengal and Goa, M K Narayanan and B V Wanchoo  respectively, as witnesses in connection with its probe into alleged payment of Rs 360-crore bribe in the VVIP helicopter deal. The ministry, after initially denying permission to the CBI, recently asked the agency about its motive to question the two governors, enjoying constitutional immunity. The law ministry then wrote another letter asking the agency to state its position of examining the two, official sources said. The CBI said it wanted to record statements of Narayanan, then national security advisor, and Wanchoo, then head of the elite special protection group (SPG) guarding the prime minister. The CBI said Wanchoo and Narayanan had participated in the meeting in 2005 that allowed key changes in the technical specifications. It claims the parameters regarding the height at which the helicopters can fly, as also the flight evaluation, were changed in a manner that enabled AgustaWestland to clinch the deal vis-à-vis its competitor, Sikorsky.