AAP&Bofors

Dear all,

Welcome & plz read on the appended message.

With regards,

M.K.Pachraiya

Original_app_mssg(1) AAP & Bofors tout

Aam Aadmi Party's Statement On Death of Ottavio Quattrocchi

The death of Ottavio Quattrocchi brings the sordid Bofors saga to an ignominious end. The Bofors saga which started with the disclosure of kickbacks paid to Indian middlemen for this gun deal in 1987 comes to an end with the death of Quattrocchi. This was the one solitary case where despite repeated attempts by the government and by the judiciary to bury the investigation, we were still able to get official Swiss bank documents through the Swiss government for the first time showing payment of kickbacks by Bofors through Quattrocchi and the Hindujas. But such is the rottenness of the Indian establishments and sections of the Judiciary that nobody has been punished for this bribery in this vital defence deal.

This saga saw repeated attempts of cover-ups through a bogus CBI investigation in the 80s, the infamous Solanki episode where India's foreign minister was caught telling the Swiss government not to cooperate with the Indian investigation and most recently the drama of the current government for first allowing Quattrocchi to leave the country, and then the charade of seeking to extradite him while continuously telling the foreign government not to do so.

The saga also saw repeated attempts by the Delhi High Court to kill the investigations. The first two attempts was stalled by the Supreme Court but then Hinduja was allowed to get away and then the bribery case was converted into a cheating case. Now with the death of Quattrocchi, the whole case comes to an end. This case starkly demonstrates the rottenness of the criminal justice system in India where the rich and powerful can hardly be brought to book. It underlines not only the need for an independent empowered Lokpal but also the need for serious judicial reforms. And it ofcourse once again shows the deep rooted corruption within this government which has progressed from Rs. 64 crore bribe in Bofors to thousands of crores in 2G, Coalgate, CWG, Air India scam etc.

The country needs a political revolution by not only throwing out this corrupt government and this political parties but putting in place a credible criminal justice system in the country.

M.K.Pachraiya