With reference to the report, "Government promises action against the corrupt" (April 29) defence purchases have been mired in scams and graft charges for long.
The arms lobby is so powerful and entrenched in almost every section of the administration and political hierarchy that not a single corruption case related to defence buys has been solved and the culprits punished. The Defence Purchase Procedure first drafted in 1992 was revised/redrafted in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2011 and 2013. After the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance came to power in 2014, it was revised again with the Make in India push. The Congress had been in power for over 50 years and the major defence procurement happened during its rule, hence it cannot absolve itself of the scams or the charges. From 1986, when the Bofors issue first cropped up, to 2016, when the AgustaWestland chopper deal is grabbing headlines, the Congress leadership is alleged to have been involved in both deals.
The BJP-led government wants to bring in transparency and professionalism in defence deals. This could lower the price of Dassault Rafale light combat aircraft by 40 per cent to nearly $8 billion from the price agreed upon during the time of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar is finding it difficult to negotiate with the French supplier of the Rafale, as it had used strong-arm tactics against the previous Indian governments to clinch deals on its terms.
The Narendra Modi government should rewrite history by giving the Central Bureau of Investigation a free hand in the AgustaWestland scam. Instead of taking to the streets or disrupting Parliament, Congress President Sonia Gandhi should step down from her post till her name is cleared in the scam.
N Ramamurthy, Chennai
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