The National Democratic Alliance has demanded cancellation of the Scorpene submarine deal and has asked the government to institute a commission of inquiry by a sitting Supreme Court Judge in which Abhishek Verma, son of former Congress member Veena Verma acted as a middleman. Leader of opposition Lal Kishenchand Advani, flanked by 2 former defence ministers George Fernandes [Images] and Jaswant Singh alleged that the deal which was exposed by Outlook Magazine in its issue dated 20th February had not been denied, nor had the government taken the magazine to court.
What is a Scorpene?
The deal, "is worth 18,798 crores and Abhishek Verma was to get Rs 752 crores as commission at the rate of 4% for the deal."
Advani wanted to know who is the lady being referred to by Abhishek Verma in his conversations with the CEO of Thales which had been flatlisted by the World Bank for offering bribes to clinch defence deals in South Africa and Pakistan respectively.
Advani also wanted to know the linkage between Abhishek Verma and three defence officers who were dismissed from service for alleged war room leaks in naval headquarters.
Verma is under investigation by the enforcement directorate and has 12 cases of financial fraud registered against him. He also has a foreign bank account, which is known to the enforcement directorate.
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