The BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party – literally “Indian People’s Party”) party in India is turning the AgustaWestland AW101 deal investigation into a domestic political row. The BJP claims to have had sight of a document which Swiss businessman Guido Haschke claimed he wrote during a meeting in 2008. The document reportedly lists initials of Indian politicians, bureaucrats and military officers who allegedly had a part in the deal.

In one section labelled “POL” – which Haschke is reported to have said refers to “Politicians” are two sub-sections. One sub-section is headed with the intials “AP” and shows a figure of 3 million euros, while the next sub-section “FAM” has a figure of 15/16 million euros. Italian investigators are reported to have said that the latter refers to “Family members”. Other paperwork previously aired in the Indian press indicates a total of 51 million euros which formed part of the alleged payments to ensure the deal went through.

It seems somewhat coincidental that within days of these papers appearing, the ruling UPA (United Progressive Alliance) party has tried to curtail the Winter Session of Parliament, a move the BJP is trying

BJP Spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said in an interview that his party believes this issue will be “the last nail in the coffin of the corrupt government”

Ben Haverdee – HeliHub.com