We have nothing to hide : Sonia says on Augusta chopper deals as ruckus disrupts RS

Though the BJP tried to pin down the Congress by raking up the controversy in which corrupt deals were made to buy 12 helicopters for top politicians, the Congress dared the ruling party 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 India" scheme.

Building up an attack against the BJP-led government, the Congress countered the ruling party's notices with one of its 

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.

All hell broke loose in the Rajya Sabha after BJP leader Subramanian Swamy named Congress President Sonia Gandhi in connection with the scam. The enraged Congress lawmakers trooped before the Deputy Chairman's podium and continued shouting in protests. 

Unfazed, Sonia Gandhi said she is not afraid. 

"We have nothing to hide. Let them take my name, I am not afraid," she said.

"This Government is in power for 2 years now,why did they not complete the inquiry?...Where is the proof? Its part of their strategy of character," Gandhi said. 

However, Sonia Gandhi's name expunged from the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha . 

Earlier,  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.