According to a report by The Economic Times, it was Wolfgang Max Richard Michel, also a consultant with AgustaWestland in the 1980s, who had passed on “Mrs Gandhi’s number” to his son Christian Michel in 1996. Wolfgang, who is believed to be close to the Gandhi family, had passed on various contact numbers for his son.
Michel, as per the report, has revealed that his father was “very close to the Gandhi family” and Indira Gandhi “considered him a friend of India”. With this information, the CBI has sought to peruse the records of the Parliament of the year 1982-83. The CBI in its remand application claimed that his father knew Indira Gandhi since 1970s and used to meet her. He also claimed that it was his father who helped Indian Government to secure contract for WG-30 and MK-42 helicopters.
As per the remand paper, Michel, while shaking hands with his lawyer Aljo Joseph, Congress leader who was ‘expelled’ from the party for representing Michel as damage control, had passed on a chit of paper discreetly which Joseph put in his pocket. On being confronted by an ED official, the paper reportedly read “the typed form of questions to be asked”. As per the remand application, the paper “pertained to a set of questions with regards to follow-up questions on Mrs Gandhi”. The ED believes that there might be a conspiracy to shield and/or tamper with the evidence.
Mrs Gandhi, who could she be?
Last week, Michel in his interrogation with the Enforcement Directorate had reportedly mentioned one “Mrs Gandhi”, “Italian lady’s son R” but could not yet reveal the context in which these names were mentioned. This had prompted many Congress-friendly journalists to point out that Mrs Gandhi referred here could be anyone. Because clearly there could be many Mrs Gandhis, who is an Italian lady with a son whose name starts from R, who could also be the Prime Minister.
One ‘journalist’ had also decided that Michel was referring to Indira Gandhi, who was not really Italian, but had a son R who did become India’s Prime Minister. Easy to miss out on the Italian lineage part when other pieces in the puzzle are giving a ‘clear picture’.
Who all were the people your father knew in India ? ED to Christian Michel
Mrs. Gandhi (Indira Gandhi) : Christian Michel.
This was the question and answer, ED referred to in Patiala House court today ! https://t.co/eEysJEj8QO
— Arvind Gunasekar (@arvindgunasekar) December 29, 2018
Except, with the new revelation that the contact numbers were passed in 1996, about 12 years after Indira Gandhi’s death, maybe their stand will change. But considering Congress social media had credited Mrs Gandhi for inaugurating a project eight years after her death, one would not be too surprised if the so-called journalists do conjure up Mrs Gandhi to pass on the number eight years after passing.
