Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the last day of election campaigning in Rajasthan made a sharp attack on the Congress and the Gandhi Parivar regarding the extradition of fugitive criminal Christian Michel. The middleman in the AgustaWestland chopper deal was brought to New Delhi on Tuesday night from Dubai.
According to the reports, Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking at an election rally in Sumerpur of Rajasthan’s Pali district launched a scathing attack on the against the Congress stating that Christian Michel, the alleged middleman in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland chopper deal will now reveal “secrets” of politicians he served.
“You must have read in today’s newspapers about VVIP helicopter scam of thousands of crore. You would be aware of a letter of Madam Sonia Gandhi. When we came to power to find out the files. We kept searching for it and finally found a ‘razdaar’ (one who knows all secrets),” said Prime Minister Modi.
Reportedly, PM Modi said a ‘chaiwala’ was able to do so because the people who voted him to power. “He was a middleman of England, who was living in Dubai. He used to serve the friends of ‘namdaar’ in Dubai. The government has brought him to India. This ‘razdar’ will reveal the secrets. Don’t know where and how far it will go,” he said.
The Prime Minister also spoke regarding the Supreme Court’s ruling on Tuesday allowing the re-opening of Income Tax assessment of Congress President Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi in the National Herald case. He further alleged that Gandhi family has been enjoying privileges for four generations and said, “Now I will see how you escape… Look at the courage of a ‘chaiwala’ who took those running country for four generations to the court’s door.”
The wanted fugitive and middleman in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland chopper deal, Christian Michel, was brought to India late on Tuesday night following his extradition by the UAE. The CBI has taken custody of the fugitive criminal after his extradition and has credited National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval for the success of the operation.
Christian Michel is accused of money laundering, bribery, and fraud in connection with the Rs 3,600-crore worth AgustaWestland scam. It is believed that not only did he pay kickbacks to politicians, officers and agents but also involved certain celebrity journalists to swing the deal.
In 2010, India had signed an agreement to buy 12 AgustaWestland AW101 helicopters for the service of the Prime Minister, the President and other VVIPs. It is alleged that some politicians and public servants had abused their official positions to reduce the service ceiling of the VVIPs helicopter from 6000 metres to 4500 metres to make AgustaWestland eligible for the contract and had awarded the contract for an amount of Euro 556.262 million in 2010.
