Bofors booms in House, Cong seeks apology

Keeping the Lok Sabha polls in mind, the Congress raked up in Parliament the issue of Delhi High Court's clean chit to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in the Bofors pay-off case demanding an apology from the government and take on record the judgment.

Congress members disrupted proceedings in the Rajya Sabha for about 30 minutes demanding an apology from the government after Law Minister Arun Jaitley said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) could consider moving a "higher" court in the wake of the Delhi High Court giving a clean chit to Rajiv Gandhi in the case.

In the Lok Sabha, senior Congress leader Shivraj Patil asked Speaker Manohar Joshi to put on record the Delhi High Court's order absolving Rajiv Gandhi and his family-members in the Bofors case.

Shortly after the Upper House began the day's proceedings, Congress member Arjun Singh raised the issue contending that the House should concur with the fact that Rajiv Gandhi was unnecessarily "persecuted" for 17 years.

To this, Jaitley said it was not an "appropriate occasion" to make such a mention as the CBI could consider moving a "higher court" in this regard.

"This matter has been pending in courts. While the special judge took one view, the high court took another view and the CBI was considering whether they should move up to a higher court," Jaitley said.

He said on earlier occasions too, there were different judgments. On one occasion, the Delhi High Court had set aside the CBI views and the Supreme Court had reversed it. Yesterday's judgment in the case "was not the final view", he added.

Following this, agitated Congress members asked the government to apologise for "tarnishing" the image of the Gandhi family.

The Lok Sabha too witnessed a war of words after Shivraj Patil (Congress) made the statement in the House as members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena demanded that the report of Justice SN Phukan Commission "clearing" Defence Minister George Fernandes in Tehelka expose be also placed on record.

To the ruling Benches' demand, the opposition members shouted back that the commission report was only an "interim" one and the House should not be "misled". The Congress members also objected to the "equating of a high court with a judicial commission".

In his statement, Patil said since 1987, serious accusations had been flung at Rajiv Gandhi and his family and since charges formed part of the proceedings of the House, the final verdict of the high court should also be made part of the proceedings.

Meanwhile, the BJP wondered how the clean chit to Rajiv Gandhi in the Bofors case could be made an issue by the Congress as those who had targeted him then were now the allies of the Congress.

"The secular brigade of VP Singh, who is its friend, philosopher and guide as also Jaipal Reddy, the DMK, Ram Vilas Paswan, the CPI, the CPI(M), who had made Bofors an issue, are now with the Congress and, therefore, how can they make it an issue," asked BJP parliamentary party spokesman VK Malhotra.

He said the Congress had once strongly opposed the DMK and had brought down the United Front government alleging that the DMK had links with the LTTE, which was responsible for the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. Malhotra said the main accused in the Bofors case was Quattrochhi and for this the Congress owed an explanation.

"It is also an embarrassment to the Congress as it is aligned with the parties which had opposed it on the Bofors issue," he said.