January 11, 2026 05:15 am (IST)
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AugustaWestland deal : Congress dares BJP in Rajya Sabha
New Delhi, Apr 27 (IBNS) The AugustaWestland chopper deal controversy led to disruptions in Parliament on Wednesday as an aggressive Congress took up the challenge posed by the BJP, countering the ruling party's notices with one of its own..
Building up a counter attack against the BJP-led government over the controversy in which corrupt deals were made to buy 12 helicopters for top politicians, the Congress dared the BJP for a discussion in Parliament, asking why a company, blacklisted by the previous UPA government was invited to participate in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make in India' campaign.
Speaking on the issue, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad said, "The UPA government had blacklisted the company. But why has the NDA government removed it from the blacklist and invited it to participate in the Make India scheme?"
An Italian court investigated the contract because Agusta's parent company is Finmeccanica, an Italian defence manufacturer, and decided that vast amounts of bribes were routed to India by company executives to land the deal for 12 VVIP helicopters for about Rs. 3,600 crore.
The deal was cancelled by India in 2014 after the Italians began investigating it, a point the Congress is flashing in its defence along with the fact that AgustaWestland has not been banned by the new government from bidding for new defence deals.
The Congress made its own demand for a discussion on AgustaWestland demanding to know why the defence manufacturer accused of corruption was taken off a blacklist by the Narendra Modi government.
Speaking on the issue, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad said, "The UPA government had blacklisted the company. But why has the NDA government removed it from the blacklist and invited it to participate in the Make India scheme?"
An Italian court investigated the contract because Agusta's parent company is Finmeccanica, an Italian defence manufacturer, and decided that vast amounts of bribes were routed to India by company executives to land the deal for 12 VVIP helicopters for about Rs. 3,600 crore.
The deal was cancelled by India in 2014 after the Italians began investigating it, a point the Congress is flashing in its defence along with the fact that AgustaWestland has not been banned by the new government from bidding for new defence deals.
The Congress made its own demand for a discussion on AgustaWestland demanding to know why the defence manufacturer accused of corruption was taken off a blacklist by the Narendra Modi government.
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