Agustawestland Chopper Deal

Italian chopper deal: UPA factsheet draws Pranab into the row

The UPA government's factsheet could prove to be more embarrassing for itself and President Pranab Mukherjee during whose stint as the defence minister the AgustaWestland deal was cleared. The Defence Ministry's factsheet categorically states that the tender was finalised in 2005 during Pranab Mukherjee's stint as the Defence Minister. ...  

Italian chopper deal: UPA blames NDA in factsheet

The UPA government went into damage control on Thursday over the AgustaWestland chopper deal, issuing a detailed factsheet on the AgustaWestland deal, putting the blame on the NDA. The Congress has alleged that in 2003, the then National Security Advisor Brajesh Mishra wrote to the then defence secretary that the existing rules were unfair as it allowed only single bidding and that the qualifying height of the choppers should be...  

AgustaWestland chopper deal: Italian probe names Tyagis

The man in the line of fire in the tainted AgustaWestland chopper deal, former Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi, has so far maintained that he has had nothing to do with the VVIP chopper deal. However, details coming out of the Italian probe report raise some very uncomfortable questions for him and provide some very specific details about the Tyagi connection to the deal. ...  

Tainted chopper deal: A low after the Afzal Guru high for UPA

As things get hot for the UPA over the tainted chopper deal, the blame game has acquired full momentum, with the Congress even dragging the dead. Brajesh Mishra, the National Security Advisor (NSA) during Atal Bihari Vajapyee's regime, was blamed for changing the rules of the bidding process. The Congress has now blamed the NDA for changing the rules of the bidding process for procurement of VVIP choppers which facilitated...  

Kickback allegations malicious, says Julie Tyagi

Sanjeev Tyagi, alias Julie Tyagi, on Thursday broke his silence over the AgustaWestland chopper deal, saying the kickback allegations against him were malicious and baseless and denied any association with the defence sector. ...  

Tainted chopper deal: UPA releases factsheet

Under fire from all corners, the UPA government on Thursday released a factsheet on the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland chopper deal. According to the factsheet, a global tender was floated in 2002 for helicopters. Only Eurocopter, France, was found suitable for acquisition. ...  

Jaswant Singh defends NDA's 2003 decision to change chopper deal norms

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Defence Minister Jaswant Singh has defended the NDA government's decision to change the chopper deal norms in 2003, saying it was taken for purely professional reasons. "That's true that technical parameters were changed during that time. I don't see why there is so much excitement as there was a plausible and good reason. The original proposal emerged in 2000 and the Air Force...  

Ex-IAF chief denies receiving PMO involvement in chopper deal

Former Air Chief Marshal S Krishnaswamy has denied receiving any letter from the Prime Minister's Office in 2003 on the AgustaWestland chopper deal. "I don't think there was any request for proposal or anything that started in my time. We have been working on VVIP helicopters since 1993," S Krishnaswamy said. ...  

AgustaWestland in Britain struggles to get deals

Two days after the arrest of Finnmeccanica's CEO Giuseppe Orsi, Alessandro Pansa has been appointed as the new CEO. AgustaWestland in Britain is reported to be in the thick of the Rs 3,600 tainted chopper deal. According to the Italian inquiry report 30 million euros of the 50 million euros paid in bribes were through Christian McKell, an agent based in London and he is reported to have been in...  

Italian report on chopper deal points at UPA; Tyagi drags in ex-NSA

The Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland chopper deal has now been put on hold by the government. All those named by the Italian probe report, including former Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi, have denied the allegations. SP Tyagi has also dragged in some crucial names including Brajesh Mishra, the former National Security Advisor during the NDA regime. ...  

Nobody will be spared in Italian chopper deal: AK Antony

Under fire over allegations of kickbacks in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper deal, government today asserted that nobody found guilty will be spared and if wrongdoings were found by the CBI, the contract can be scrapped. "Nobody will be spared whatever may be the consequences," Defence Minister AK Antony told reporters on the alleged Italian chopper scam. ...