Raj BJP dismisses allegations of chopper deal

Rajasthan BJP today dismissed allegations levelled by Congress against Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje over purchase of a helicopter in 2008, saying neither any chopper was purchased nor any payment made.
"No payment was made against any purchase of a helicopter in 2008. The allegations leveled by PCC chief (Sachin Pilot) are baseless and he is misleading the public to divert attention from charges against Congress president Sonia Gandhi in connection with the AugustaWestland chopper deal," BJP state President Ashok Parnami said.
Pilot today alleged that the Raje government in 2008 had initiated a process to procure another helicopter at an inflated price of Rs 59 crore but the deal could not be concluded as BJP lost state Assembly elections in the same year.

On the purchase of AugustaWestland helicopter in 2005 by the then state government led by Raje, Parnami reiterated that no irregularities took place.
He asked why the former Congress-led UPA government did not initiate an investigation into the alleged irregularities when CAG pointed out the same.