CBI incurs Parliament's wrath for leaking Bofors papers

Members, irrespective of party affiliations, on Wednesday launched a concerted attack on the Central Bureau of Investigation for making selective leaks to the press on sensitive matters like Bofors without taking Parliament into confidence.

Criticising CBI Director Joginder Singh for not informing Parliament or the ministry concerned about its reported decision to chargesheet former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi (Congress) sought to move a privilege motion against him in the Lok Sabha.

He received support from Jaswant Singh (BJP) and Sharad Yadav (JD) who expressed concern at Parliament being bypassed on important issues.

Rita Verma, who was in the chair, told Dasmunshi that his notice was under the Speaker's active consideration.

Raising the issue during zero hour, Dasmunshi said the details of the Bofors case should have been placed before the House as assured by the government earlier.

Dasmunshi said the Speaker had observed during the debate on the Bofors case that the House should be informed on the progress of investigation. Former prime ministers V P Singh and P V Narasimha Rao had also made similar commitments to the House. Recently, the law minister assured members that the House would be informed once the investigation in the case was over.

Jaswant Singh demanded a comprehensive statement on the progress of the investigation into the case. ''This kind of selective dissemination of news without taking into confidence the House is a serious matter.''

Sharad Yadav (JD) fully supported Dasmunshi and said it was strange that former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, who is no more, has also been dragged into the chargesheet.

He expressed concern over the fact that Parliament's power is being eroded. Even the prime minister's post has become merely ''ornamental,'' he observed.

Somnath Chatterjee (CPI-M) said the House should have been taken into confidence on the progress of the investigation into the case.

The CBI, in its report on the Bofors investigations submitted to the government this week, has charged about a dozen former officials and individuals with causing loss to the state exchequer in the Rs 15 billion gun deal.

Official sources on Wednesday said the 200-odd page report, handed over to the Cabinet secretariat, deals with the alleged connivance of retired officials in the reported Rs 640 million kickbacks paid to middlemen.

The officials, though not named as recipients of the payoffs, have been put in the accused category along with controversial Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi and his wife Maria and former Bofors agent Win Chadha, his late wife Kanta and son Harsh.

The Quattrocchis and Chadhas, residents of Kuala Lumpur and Dubai respectively, were named as beneficiaries of the 1986 deal following scrutiny of secret Swiss bank documents relating to the commission.

The report had been finalised by a 12-member Special Investigation Team set up in February to go into all aspects of the Bofors case.

The SIT, headed until recently by then additional director Revenna Siddaiah, had prepared the report on the basis of the examination and interrogation of former Union ministers and high-ranking civil and defence officials in the light of the Swiss bank documents, brought from Berne on January 24 by Joginder Singh.

Those questioned by the CBI team include former ministers Arun Singh, Arun Nehru and Madhavsinh Solanki, former army chief General K Sundarji, retired defence secretary S K Bhatnagar, then officials in the prime minister's office Sarla Grewal and Gopi Arora and several retired lieutenant generals.

While General Sundarji had pointed an accusing finger at then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi during his examination by the CBI, Arun Nehru had bailed out the late leader, stating that Gandhi had asked him to convey to the ambassadors of Sweden, Britain and France that there would be no middlemen in the deal.