Targeting the previous United Progressive Alliance regime over the controversial AgustaWestland deal, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Wednesday said the ongoing probe will focus on those named in the Italian court judgement.
Sparks flew in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday after BJP leader Subramanian Swamy dragged Sonia Gandhi's name in the AgustaWestland helicopter bribery case
The House "must know how an honourable member or rather less honourable member" was given access to sensitive and secret files, which he has refused to authenticate and place on the table of the House, Anand Sharma of the Congress said.
'As she was dragged off the yacht, the princess cried, "I won't go back to the UAE, just kill me now!"' 'She hasn't been heard of since then.' 'Perhaps she is dead.' 'If so, Modi's government has blood on its hands,' notes Sunanda K Datta-Ray.
The Lok Sabha session was on Wednesday brought to a sudden end, two days before the scheduled culmination of the session during which the budgetary exercise was the highlight.
The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday filed its first chargesheet in a Delhi court against businessman Gautam Khaitan and others, including two Italian nationals, in connection with its money laundering probe in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper deal.
It may be a case of history repeating itself as the defence company at the heart of parliamentary queries over Britain's involvement in Operation Bluestar is none other than AgustaWestland, which recently lost out on a lucrative contract to supply helicopters to India over allegations of corruption.
Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday opposed in a Delhi court the bail plea of businessman Gautam Khaitan, arrested in connection with the money laundering case related to Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper deal, claiming that he was behind the "parking" of alleged kickbacks in the matter.
'Now I will see how you escape...'
He also questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "silence" on the issue.
There are two national political parties in India, but only one of them seems to be any good at politics, says Mihir S Sharma.
"One was 'AP' and the other was 'Fam'. 'AP' stands for Ahmed Patel and 'Fam' stands for family. Have you heard of Ahmed Patel? Which family is he close to?" Modi asked the crowd at a rally in Dehradun.
If Wednesday was any indication, the rest of the Parliament session will see the two sides scoring brownie points against each other, and the Gandhis can expect more enemy fire directed at them, says Rashme Sehgal.
After the Union comptroller and auditor-general saying there'd been a loss of Rs 10.67 lakh crore in allotment of coal blocks, the draft Request For Proposal (RFP) for new allocations has strong clauses for cancellation for breaches on this count.
Former Defence Minister A K Antony on Wednesday acknowledged "corruption" in the AgustaWestland chopper deal.
Gujarat Governor Kamla Beniwal, who had frosty relations with Narendra Modi when he was chief minister of the state, was tonight sent off to Mizoram in a reshuffle of governors effected by the government.
There were 35 defects that still remained to be resolved. Of these, 29 could not have been resolved during the monsoon since they required testing in absolutely calm seas. Nor is the Khanderi being commissioned with a full complement of its primary weapon, the torpedo.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday dubbed the controversial deal a "chori" (theft) and indicated that the guilty, howsoever big, would not be spared.
Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah on Saturday attacked Rahul Gandhi after the Congress vice president questioned the NDA government's achievements, saying it was no mean feat that even the opposition has been unable to level any corruption charges against it.
The searches are linked to suspected movement of hawala money during the ongoing polls season and tax evasion, they said.
The deal for purchase of 36 Rafale fighter planes from France is not done yet, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Friday with an assertion that the government was negotiating to reduce to deal value and "save a lot" of money.
The Chair expunged Swamy's reference to the Constitution of another country that triggered vociferous protests from Congress members.
Modi along with Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi and Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal also walked a few metres on the bridge.
Cancelling Uighur leader Dolkun Isa's visa could have been a mutual face-saving exercise for New Delhi and Beijing.
The Scorpene submarine does not have enough firepower; it will share 64 obsolescent SUT torpedoes till the Indian Navy is supplied with 100 heavyweight torpedoes -- a process that could take more than two years to complete
How will the navy's six Scorpenes fight, when their primary weapon -- the Black Shark torpedo -- is blocked by a ministry of defence ban on the company chosen to supply these? This gloomy scenario provides a heaven-sent opportunity to revisit the navy's torpedo purchase plan, handled without strategic vision and economic foresight.
L K Advani's observation on Narendra Modi, an attempt to cut the BJP's prime ministerial nominee down to size, billing him a mere event manager like Vijay Raaz in Mira Nair's film Monsoon Wedding, speaks volumes about their differences... In the coming days, the Congress and BJP may lock horns over the AgustaWestland chopper deal. In an Italian court, Guido Haschke, one of the accused middlemen who allegedly bribed the Indian side, has sought a plea bargain to reduce his jail term if convicted. On or around April 11, we will know how much Haschke is ready to reveal. Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt detects which way the political wind is blowing these days.
On the stalled goods and services tax bill, Modi said the Congress has made it a prestige issue but expressed confidence that the evolving arithmetic in Rajya Sabha would ensure that the legislation would be passed soon.
The defence ministry has put on hold all existing and future deals with Rolls Royce pending a CBI probe ordered into allegations of bribery and engaging middlemen in contracts worth Rs 10,000 crore for supply of aircraft engines to state-owned HAL.
The shops became a subject of a political controversy last week.
'People do not want a 'maha milavat' (highly adulterated) government of those who assembled in Kolkata.'
'Judging by the conduct of two governors of Kerala and one governor from Kerala, Congressmen treated Raj Bhavan as a transition point before taking a flight back into active politics.'
We get tangled up in our own crooked web on purchases, and the murky arms bazaar knows it, says Shekhar Gupta.
