View-point

Bofors Bogey

Suresh Pachouri

The Bofors scam has uncannily been resurrected as a poll issue just before the general elections and some politicians have latched on to the issue in the hope of gaining political mileage. After long-drawn and thorough deliberations, the Delhi High Court, on February 4, 2004, cleared former Prime Minister late Shri Rajiv Gandhi of all charges in the Bofors scam. However, certain politicians in the NDA and BJP seemingly unable to digest the truth are trying to whip up the issue once again. It would not be wrong to surmise that the political twist given to the issue by the BJP is because they are shaking in their shoes over the rapidly increasing popularity of Congress President, Smt. Sonia Gandhi. This also goes on to show that they have no faith in the country's judicial system and that they can go to any length to malign Smt. Sonia Gandhi's image. The basis for the BJP's canards is a statement made by Swedish police officer, Stan Lindstrom.

The question that begs askance, is why did the police officer keep quite for two months after the Delhi High Court verdict on the issue? If he had felt that the investigation process had not been impartial, he could have spoken up then. If he had valid evidence why did he not hand it over to the CBI during the investigations? Why did he seek this election time to voice his doubts? Lindstrom had made the same statement five years back, which had been published in the newspaper at that time. His statement cannot be termed as `clear' for the reason that on the one hand he claims that he is speaking the truth while on the other; he also expresses his inability to prove his statement in the court. How much faith can one place on such a paradoxical statement?

The truth is that the BJP leaders are vying with each other to malign the unblemished image of Smt. Sonia Gandhi when there is no credence in the said revelations by the Swedish officer, who is not amenable to any Indian laws for making any statement against any person. George Fernandes and Arun Jaitley are said to be the most probable suspects for reviving the conspiracy. And, one is forced to wonder if the Swedish officer is a mere pawn in the hands of the NDA government, and the BJP, in particular.

BJP is questioning the political propriety of Congress; here it would suffice to say that the word `political propriety' has hardly any place in the vocabulary of BJP. Everyone is aware of BJP's political propriety in the matter of the then President of BJP Shri Bangaru Laxman, who was caught on tape accepting cash and asking for further payments, and the then Union Minister of NDA Government, Shri Dilip Singh Judeo, who was caught taking drinks in a five star hotel's room and taking cash to expedite mining projects. But surprisingly, a party proclaiming to stand by propriety and headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, did not bother to get matters investigated by CBI. The stand taken by the Prime Minister goes to prove that he has miserably failed in treading the path of justice. Does the Prime Minister no longer have faith in our judiciary? If the CBI is really serious about this issue then it must first find out about the NDA/BJP politicians, who are in contact with the Swedish officer and, have master-minded and rigged the whole conspiracy.

Shri Ram Jethmalani in a statement said that Swedish officer is a friend of Arun Jaitley. He has also stated that the George Fernandes had brought the officer to meet him when he was the Union Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs, in Vajpayee Government.

It is imperative to mention here that Shri Rajiv Gandhi had been falsely implicated in the Bofors Scam that supposedly took place in 1986. He was given a clean chit by the Delhi High Court, which said that Rajiv Gandhi had no involvement in the Bofors pay-offs and there was no evidence to suggest that Rajiv Gandhi used influence on the `Technical Committee' and `Negotiation Committee'. In this way his innocence was once again established after his demise.

The judgement of the Delhi High Court states, `sixteen years of investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation could not unearth a scintilla of evidence against' Shri Rajiv Gandhi `for having accepted bribe or illegal gratification in awarding the contract in favour of Bofors company.' I would, therefore, like to ask the people whether they can forgive those who tried to wreck the image of a leader who rose on the horizon of Indian politics like a bright star and won the love and respect of the masses?

Shri Rajiv Gandhi had stated in the Lok Sabha on August 6, 1987, `I categorically declare in this highest forum of India's democracy that neither I nor any members of my family have received any consideration in these transactions. That is the truth.' But the opposition, including Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Lal Krishna Advani and others continued with their efforts to falsely implicate him in the case.

It is unfortunate that his name was being dragged in, even after his demise. On January 16, 1998 BJP leader Smt. Sushma Swaraj said "Smt. Sonia Gandhi was involved in the Bofors scam" and on 31 December 1997 she went to the extent of threatening Smt. Sonia Gandhi and said "We will revive all cases touching Sonia Gandhi- including Bofors." On October 22, 1999, a charge-sheet was submitted against Shri Rajiv Gandhi in the court. Violating all norms of decency, Smt. Sushma Swaraj on 25 October 1999 said, "Death of a person does not debar from including his name in the charge sheet and that is why Rajiv Gandhi's name is there in the charge sheet."

Another point worth noticing is that the Bofors gun and cannons set at rest all speculations about their range and strength, during the Kargil War. Even the court praised the way the Bofors guns functioned during the war and helped India secure a major victory in Kargil. The air reverberated with the lusty shouts of the brave jawans, `Rajiv Gandhi Zindabad' and not with `Long live Atal'.

Vajpayee had said during his parliamentary speech on May 11, 1998, that the matter would not end with the submission of the Parliamentary Committee report and that the real truth would ultimately be unearthed. He had ended his speech with `Satyameva Jayate'. And yes, the truth has prevailed. But the BJP leaders are just not prepared to acknowledge it, leave alone accept their error in besmirching the untarnished name of Rajivji.

However, after the pronouncement of the judgement by Delhi High Court, the prestige of the Gandhi family has further increased manifold. Smt. Sonia Gandhi, after pronouncement of the judgement by the Delhi High Court, in a highly emotive tone said, "This is a special moment for me, Priyanka and Rahul. 17 years of abuse and character assassination have ended today. I have never felt more proud and honoured to be his wife during the entire course of this journey when the BJP-NDA Government has accused my husband of being a conspirator." She recalled Shri Rajiv Gandhi's remark "One day my innocence will be proved."

The Delhi High Court's verdict of February 4, 2004, is virtually a slap on the face of those bad-mouthing the Nehru-Gandhi family. However, the masses of India want a question answered _ Would the Vajpayee Government tell the masses the amount of money that was fruitlessly wasted on the Bofors investigations? Not only was public fund wasted but also doubts were raised on the integrity of investigating agencies. Many CBI officers, who went on foreign trips, could not find any evidence against late Shri Rajiv Gandhi. Now, a mere statement by some Swedish officer is being used to raise a stillborn issue and to malign the clean image of Smt. Sonia Gandhi.

The truth is that the prestige of the Gandhi family has shot up manifold and has only helped them emerge as winners. It has taken 16 years for the truth to establish, but ultimately it has been established. But would the NDA, BJP or the investigation agencies, dare to take the responsibility for the extreme pain and humiliation that Rajiv Gandhi's family had to undergo for the past 16 years?