It is a pity that India keeps investigating the Bofors case for decades, even as no lead has yet been established into one of the most sensational defence scams. The CBI was told by the trial court on Thursday that it needed no permission to continue investigating the case – and this, after the CBI sought its nod on the ground that some “fresh evidence” has cropped up. Question is, how long can this go on?
The Bofors case surfaced in 1987 after the Swedish media broke the story saying the artillery manufacturer there had paid kickbacks to several individuals in India and Sweden to secure the Rs 1,500 crore guns contract for the India’s defence. Another media report in Sweden had said bribes of Rs 60 crore had been paid by the Swedish company to Indian politicians, including Congress leaders and bureaucrats. The role of an Italian businessman, Ottavio Quattrocchi, as an agent in the deal, further spiced up the case. Several governments have come and gone since the mid-1980s, and there were several twists and turns to the Bofors case. Either the investigating agencies could not do a proper job, or hurdles were put in their way, or there was no evidence to prove the allegations. Considering the nature of the case and the personalities involved, nothing is likely to surface even now. The long years saw governments of the Congress, the BJP and others too at the helm of affairs here, and yet the case did not progress except to be used as a political weapon every now and again. The fresh initiative on the part of the CBI is based on what it stated before court as “revelations” made by one Michael Hershman.
The Bofors case had been prominently raised in this Lok Sabha poll campaign by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, by way of retaliation to Congress president Rahul Gandhi who called the PM a “chor” in relation to the Rafale fighter jet deal with France. But, the CBI reworking on the case at this juncture would in no way help the BJP push its campaign. Rather, other reasons might be suspected.
The CBI, the caged parrot, is capable of such moves on its own too, even for the heck of it. Hundreds of crores might already have been spent in the investigations. More crores could go the way of the CBI and its officials if a fresh probe is done. The inference could be that CBI is keen on playing with money and wasting its precious resources including manpower for longer terms.
