NEW DELHI: Union Finance Minister and senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley on Saturday threw a bombshell of an erstwhile company of Congress President Rahul Gandhi dabbling in the defence deals during the previous UPA government and how he got offset contracts of the Scorpene deal to his business partner.
At a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, he taunted at Rahul as “a man who aspired to be a defence deal pusher and today aspires to be India’s Prime Minister.”
He asked Rahul to tell the world how would he like to be judged given that he judged others — Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Rafale offsets — “without any evidence.”
“How would you like to be judged now given that you are judging others when there is no evidence,” he asked. He also tweeted that Rahul’s name is directly linked with this doubtful deal and so he can’t keep quiet. “Chor machaye shor,” he added to debunk Rahul pointing finger at PM Modi.
Jaitley claimed that the UK firm Backops Limited set up by Rahul with 65% shares had acquired the defence deals under the UPA regime, pointing out how another company was set up in India as Backops Private Limited in 2002 with Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi as its directors to meddle in the defence deals India made with the foreign countries.
He alleged that Rahul helped his erstwhile business partner Ulrik Mcknight in the Backops firm to acquire offset defence contracts from the French defence supplier Naval Group against the Scorpene submarine deal signed by the UPA in 2011.
“Rahul Gandhi made allegations in transactions cleared by the CAG and the Supreme Court. Over a company getting offset contracts, he attacked the person (Anil Ambani) who was not connected to that company in any way. And here you are directly connected to a company getting offset contract in another defence deal,” Jaitley said.
Pointing out that Rahul had a 65% share in Backops between 2003 and 2009 when it was wound up, he said even after the McKnight acquired the Scorpene offset contracts, the same Ulrik Mcknights went on and signed a contract with a Visakhapatnam-based firm for the supply of critical parts for the Scorpene submarine missiles.
“Although Ulrik Mcknight is an American citizen, he is a member of the social gang of Rahul Gandhi,” Jaitley claimed, asserting that Rahul is obviously an indirect beneficiary of the defence deals his friend made in India.
A Congress spokesman was quick to point out Rahul Gandhi’s assertion only earlier in the day at a Press conference: “Please take any investigation you want and any action against me. I have no problem as I have not done anything wrong. But please also investigate Rafale.”
He said Rahul has been already facing investigations and court cases on his acquisition of properties in Haryana and in the National Herald case and so he will not be deterred by yet another fake charge levelled by Jaitley.
Dr Subramanian Swamy and Jaitley hate each other and so it was a pleasant surprise for Swamy to see Jaitley pick up the issue of Rahul’s Backops Limited partner Ulrik McKnight involved in the Scorpene deal on which he is agitating for long.
In a tweet, he said: “Namo leadership on fight corruption can be now upgraded to A- because his taking action on my complaint on Backops even if late.” He, however, had a sting in another tweet that he had petitioned to all agencies and media reported in December 2015 but government “sitting on it for more than 40 months.”
Jaitley said Backops means “back office” and as such it was neither in manufacturing or servicing but engaged in liaison to make money from helping the companies involved in the defence deals.
He said there is also one Wing Commander Mattu in Rahul’s friend circle who was to help them to handle the defence deals. Both Rahul and Mattu had the same address in London and the house belonged to Ajitabh Bachchan and his wife Romela.
Jaitley said a small Indian company was also selected in the offset contract for India’s purchase of six submarines. McKnight’s two firms are taken over by Flashforge making him a director and thus it gets the offset contract.
The BJP leader said the Gandhi family is a beneficiary of this offset contract. He said Rahul owes to the nation to explain why he first set up the Backops in India in 2002 and then in London in 2003.
He said Rahul cannot maintain silence on this issue as an accused has the right of silence but not when it involves a political leader. Those who come in public life must explain their conduct in the dubious deals that become public, he added.
