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"There is a scandal. People must know about it," Tyagi

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Press Trust of India
said. Asked about the alleged involvement of three of his relatives, he said, "The fact is they are related to me. But there are no business links (as alleged) with them....We were really not in touch when I was in service". "Tender was issued during my tenure but the charge is that the company which got the tender, AugustaWestland they may not have been able to compete if the requirements would not have been changed. For these matters only somebody will bribe me. "So I want to tell you two-three things - Air Headquarters cannot change requirements. It is not a general store, there is a system. The system is Air Headquarter can recommend but cannot approve," the former Air chief said. Maintaining that there were no changes between 2004 and 2007, he said, "If you remember in 2000, the Defence Minister was George Fernandes, he use to go to Siachen and other places. So it was thought that VIPS will go to Siachen. So till 18000 feet the plane should operate. "If Prime Minister accompanies them, SPG will also go. His PS will also go. So what should be its weight and other technicalities. So I don't know about these things. But there was a talk about 18,000 feet. When in 2000 tender action was taken they got to know that nobody in the world builds a plane that operates at 18,000 feet only. In the entire world, a French plane was there which could operate at 18,000 ft," he said. In 2003, Government said it is not proper. SPG said cabin weight of the copter is low and they will not be able to stand in it, he said, adding that the SPG wanted to be involved in the selection process. These changes were made in 2003 before he took over, Tyagi said. "After that I know only this much that SPG and Defence Minister had a lot of correspondence on the kinds of fittings in the plane for example SPG wanted to install an armour plate but we said plane will not fly because it will be heavy. It will become a tank," he said.

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First Published: Feb 13 2013 | 12:10 PM IST

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