President Pranab Mukherjee called the Bofors scandal a media trial that could not be proven in any Indian court
While naming him as the NDA candidate for the Vice President's post, the BJP had described him as 'Kisan putra', a move seen in the political circles aimed at reaching out to the politically significant Jat community which had participated in huge numbers in the year-long farmers' protests against agriculture reform measures unveiled in June 2020.
Journalist and author Chitra Subramaniam has demanded that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) make public its findings from the "box of evidence" received from Switzerland regarding the Bofors payoffs. Subramaniam, author of 'Boforsgate: A Journalist's Pursuit of Truth', expressed concerns about the lack of transparency surrounding the evidence, questioning who opened the box, when it was opened, and what it contained. She also raised doubts about the official narrative regarding the alleged bribe in the Bofors case, suggesting the sum of Rs 64 crore may not reflect the full extent of the corruption. Subramaniam also alleged that the CBI planted stories about Hindi film actor Amitabh Bachchan to derail the investigation and launched a political vendetta against the Bachchans. She recalled that Bachchan had come to her home and asked if she had seen his name. The CBI has recently requested assistance from the United States in the case, seeking information from private investigator Michael Hershman, who claims to have crucial details about the scandal. The Bofors scandal, a major bribery case involving the Indian government and the Swedish arms manufacturer Bofors in the 1980s, pertains to allegations of a Rs 64-crore bribe in a Rs 1,437-crore deal for the supply of 400 155mm field Howitzers.
The 145 M-777 guns, manufactured by the BAE Systems, are being taken to Pokhran firing range in Rajasthan for test firing.
To many who remember the politics of the late 1980s, this is a worryingly familiar moment for India. The two periods have several common features: a rudderless government, an insurgent anti-corruption movement, and weakness on the external economic front.
'There is no scope for any doubt. This was a scheme designed to enrich the ruling party.'
At least one commentator felt that both the BJP's reach and popularity had been underestimated in Kerala. They have shown systematic gain; one that seems personality-neutral and therefore institutionalised, explains Shyam G Menon.
'It is for the people of that state to decide whether what has happened is appropriate or not. But normally a party does not lose its support base just because of some MLAs jumping ship'
'Modigate is snowballing into a huge thing with the electorate. The BJP is in for huge punishment by the electorate.'
His business successes which started with the international distribution rights for the Bollywood blockbuster movie 'Sangam' in 1964 made him one of the richest in Britain but it was the Bofors scam that made Srichand Parmanand Hinduja famous, or rather infamous, back home. SP Hinduja, as he was known, died in London on Wednesday after a prolonged illness. He was 87, a family spokesperson said. Born in a business family in Karachi, British India, he and his two younger brothers were accused of receiving payments totalling Rs 64 crore in illegal commissions to help Swedish gunmaker AB Bofors secure an Indian government contract.
'They are fighting it out, but they have deeply traumatised; they are alive and they are carrying on in life.'
The Indian Army has deployed a significant number of easily transportable M-777 ultra-light howitzers in mountainous regions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh, military officials said on Thursday.
As Indian Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane inducted the last of the 100 K-9 Vajra guns ordered, three of these howitzers have been deployed for trials in high altitude mountainous area of Ladakh.
Dhankhar, who took to cricket in his school days and also had keen interest in spirituality and meditation, began his political journey with the Janata Dal and won the Lok Sabha elections in 1989.
Armed with fresh details in the 25-year-old Bofors scandal, an aggressive Opposition Thursday disrupted Parliament, alleging "cover up" and demanding a new probe by a judicial commission.
Former West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar was on Thursday sworn in as the 14th Vice President of India.
Videos: Bofors, Bip's Singularity and making a Silly Point
Videos: Bofors, Bip's Singularity and making a Silly Point
Innocent anchors in the media, especially electronic, are guilty of raising expectations of a gullible nation without realizing how these accounts operate.
Raju need not fear ostracism once he's out - society will embrace him. Size is a national obsession. Indians have stashed away more than anyone else -- a noble $1,456 billion -- in Swiss banks. We thrive on superlatives. Even Jawaharlal Nehru rejoiced in the Suratgarh farm being "the biggest farm in Asia".
Amitabh Bachchan is the latest star to explore the reaches of the Internet, and blogs. The superstar has become a regular blogger, and uses the medium to vent.
Transactions older than ten years cannot be probed under the Swiss laws and the Swiss authorities have informed in writing that facts of the Bofors case fell under the rule "lapse of time" and hence its regrets to offer any further help.
'How can anybody cast aspersions on Sonia's family without any proof?' asks former prime minister V P Singh.
Over the years, a noticeable unpleasantness began to develop between senior and junior, Sorabjee and Salve. Salve gave credit, for his rise in the profession, to Nani Palkhivala, and not to Sorabjee. This hurt Sorabjee, though he never admitted it.
Lalitgate is so much like the Bofors arms scandal that eventually brought down the Rajiv Gandhi government despite his humongous parliamentary majority, Trinamool Congress MP Dinesh Trivedi tells Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com.
The 73-year-old actor feels accusations are easy to make in the age of technology and people don't always bother to check facts.
In the wake of the 2G acquittals, here are a few high-profile cases in which question marks were raised by various courts over the CBI's probe.
Will the low cost Israeli Athos gun scuttle India's ATAGS gun?
Gandhi's statement sparked controversy across the nation as the Bharatiya Janata Party hit back at Gandhi in equal measure.
A preliminary inquiry has found that the explosion took place due to faulty ammunition supplied by the Ordnance Factory Board and a further probe into the matter was on, the sources said.
The barrel of the US-manufactured gun exploded during field trial in Pokhran.
'Didi' became the real 'Dada' as she got past the post, on a wheelchair and a foot in cast, a souvenir from the Nandigram battle against former protege-turned-rival Suvendu Adhikari.
The trio also accused PM Modi of single-handedly changing the parameters of the deal.
'Sweden claimed inability to track the payments through Swiss bank accounts after making a half-hearted request for Swiss assistance,' it said.
On Wednesday, Bengal's own daughter she firmly pitched herself as, was sworn in as the chief minister of the turbulent state for the third successive term amid raging fires of political violence and a rampaging pandemic.
'More than losing Bengal, the worry for their national leadership is the current crisis.' 'If people perceive that the government does not do enough, then there's trouble.'
He was suffering from lung cancer for last several months, West Bengal CPI secretary Swapan Banerjee said.
Rubbishing Congress' claim of having blacklisted AgustaWestland, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said he had as defence minister in June 2014 put the transaction to buy 12 helicopters from the Italian firm on hold and in July barred any future contract with it.
Controversial Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, who was a key figure in the Bofors payoffs scandal, has died in Milan following a stroke.
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