NEW DELHI:
Having frozen all further payments to AgustaWestland, the government is fast veering towards cancelling the VVIP helicopter deal, with the beleaguered defence ministry once again declaring on Thursday that it will take "all possible legal and administrative action against the guilty parties".
Sources said defence minister AK Antony is determined to get to the bottom of the bribery scandal threatening to taint his squeaky clean political track record. Government circles acknowledge the Rs 3,546-crore contract for 12 AW-101 helicopters, inked in February 2010, has emerged as a test case for Antony, who has built his entire political career on his reputation for honesty.
The defence ministry signalled its intent on Thursday by asking the chief executive officer of AgustaWestland to "categorically" state whether the company indeed paid bribes to swing the deal. In a letter, the ministry insisted on a "clear position" in view of the current developments.
"AgustaWestland has been asked to specifically indicate if any financial transaction has taken place with any Indian individual or entity, which would be in violation of the integrity pact or other terms and conditions of the contract," it said.
{I just posted why this is a bogus question as FM, Italy can say it payed to some foreigners Michel and Haschke and not Indians. This is same as Octavio Quattorchi case!}
Although no finger has been pointed at Antony, he is being blamed for not movingly swiftly enough when the first whiff of the bribery scandal surfaced over 11 months ago.
The minister has been criticized for bringing in the CBI only this week after the top executives of AgustaWestland and its parent company Finmeccanica were arrested in Italy.
A strong indication of Antony's resolve to repair the perception came in the form of a
six-page factsheet, issued by MoD on Thursday, which shielded him from the controversial decision to tweak the technical specifications for the helicopters. More importantly,
it made it clear that the "changes" were carried out during the tenure of his predecessor Pranab Mukherjee.
Government sources said outright cancellation of the contract was no longer a far-fetched possibility. "If the contracts for the Bofors howitzers and the HDW submarines in the mid-1980s could be terminated mid-way, even if they hit the operational readiness and modernization of the armed forces in a major way, these are just choppers meant for VVIP travel," said a source.
{In both above cases its the Indian armed forces that suffered for the bribes which were traced to INC party occured. Why cant they take delivery and deduct the bribe amount? This way the forces get their equipment and the perpetrators get to pay the 'business costs" as Berlusconi claimed!}
Significantly, Antony had on Wednesday stated he would not shy away from taking extreme action if the CBI probe corroborated the charges against AgustaWestland in the Italian court.
{What extreme action other than blacklisting and denying the armed forces the equipment that they need? Will not buying the helicopters ensure the IAF has the equipment to fly the civilians to high altitude places? The need for such helicopters came up in 1999 when George Fernandes went to visit the high altitude areas to show his support to the troops. The need hasn't gone away in past 14 years!}
The looming budget session of Parliament, and the indication that the Opposition is all set to feast on the latest scandal to hit UPA, is proving to be a big push for a tough response. The session is set to start on February 21, and there are indications that the MoD might not even wait for the CBI to submit a formal report.
Defence secretary Shashikant Sharma, as reported by TOI earlier, has also asked the Indian ambassador in Italy to formally procure the Italian court documents detailing the alleged payment of 51 million euros to swing the contract for AgustaWestland.
{Again this is a useless request as Ind Embassy doesn't have the wherewithal to get anything except drink someone elses cocktails and issue visas to terrorists!}
These documents obtained officially could serve as a tool for action in case the government feels it cannot afford to wait for the CBI to give its findings.
"We want to finish the ongoing review of the contract and take a decision before the next delivery of helicopters...Proper documentation will ensure there is no financial loss to India in the case of arbitration or other proceedings at a later stage," said a senior official.
{If the govt wants to take action they can first arrest those who got the bribes as they are all in India and probably visiting AKA's house!}
Despite having inducted only three of the AW-101 helicopters till now, with the remaining nine slated for delivery in batches of three each in March, May and July, MoD has already put on hold all further payments to AgustaWestland.
India has paid a little over 50% of the total amount to this UK-based subsidiary of Italian military giant Finmeccanica till now, while another tranche was to be paid later this month.
{Its dumb to pay 50% and take posession of 25%(3 out of 12 helicopters) of contracted goods! The bribes were thus paid from Indian govt funds. So what happened to the idea of progress payments? They deliver goods and get paid for the dleivered goods. The location of the firm in UK is a giveaway of the scam. Was the contract with the Italian firm or the UK based subsidary?}
Both the contract and integrity pact inked with AgustaWestland contain specific provisions by which "strict action including the cancellation of contract, recovery of payment, blacklisting and penal action" can be unleashed against the vendor.
Article 22 of the inked contract, for instance, deals with the penalty for the "use of undue influence". It entitles the "buyer" to cancel the contract with the "seller" and recover from him the amount of any loss arising from such cancellation.
Article 23, in turn, deals with agents and agency commission, requiring the "seller" to confirm and declare that the company has not engaged any individual or firm - Indian or foreign - to intercede or facilitate in any way with the Indian government or its officials.
Any breach of the integrity pact, in turn, entitles the "buyer" to take actions against the "seller", ranging from forfeiture of the earnest money and performance bond to contract cancellation and recovery of the sum already paid with interest.
No amount of clauses can protect against venal government officals and servants that steal from their own people and claim to be innocent!!! If the Italian govt hadn't arrested the FM chief the Indian govt would have turned a blind eye and pretend to be not informed. The Italians were investigating since 2011 and the MoD never felt that there is a need to launch an inquiry. And the Indian Embassy was sleeping on the job since 2011 while the Italian govt was investigating a defence contract with GOt of India and it was in the papers. And to turn around and ask these sleeping joes to get information is height of hope.
First recall that Indian Ambassador to Italy and the Military attache for negligence. Wait that is Salman Khurshi* domain. Then recall the Military attache for being so unaware of whats going on about an Indian defence contract for that person works for Raksha Mantri}
blacklisted the travel agents who duped the exchequer and the DGCA is now going to begin an awareness campaign asking anyone buying air tickets from a third party like an agent to check fares with the airline before paying for them.