Cong washes hands of Bofors move

Dismiss law minister, says BJP

The Congress today washed its hands of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government's decision to de-freeze the two UK bank accounts of Ottavio Quattrochi, the alleged Italian middleman in the controversial Bofors deal.

But the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) refused to let go of the issue and demanded that Law Minister HR Bhardwaj resign or be sacked for going out of the way to clear Quattrochi's bank accounts of receiving kick-backs.

The response of the government was based on official files and records and therefore, any queries about its decision should be raised with the departments concerned and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said today.

Ironically, while the party disowned any responsibility for the UPA government's latest decision in the Bofors case, it also wanted credit for another executive decision to put the food subsidy cut on hold. "For good governance, the party and the government are two crucial wheels," gloated Singhvi, reminding reporters of the party's opposition to the subsidy cut.

Singhvi averred that the Congress had "nothing whatsoever" with the Quattrochi issue. "The party plays no role in decision-making. We believe the law must take its own course and the guilty must be punished."

But the party's unstated stance became clear as the spokesman made a feeble attempt to defend the government, claiming that the CBI had sought an opinion from a law official named Pathak who was of the opinion that there was no evidence (against Quattrochi) so far.

Besides, according to law, no bank account can be kept frozen for an indefinite period. The government had responded to a query (about the status of the case) from a foreign court and had given a no-value judgment as to whether the court should defreeze the accounts or not.

"For 20 long years, the Opposition has been flogging the dead horse of Bofors to link it with the party, but has always got judicial and public rebuke," said Singhvi.

Meanwhile, the public interest litigation filed in the Supreme Court was not heard because of certain procedural lacunae. The court asked the complainant to complete procedural formality before it could be heard.

The Congress also refused to comment on Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh's meeting with former External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh today.