NEW DELHI, Feb 18 � BJP today asked Congress to come clean on reports alleging that close associates of a former Union Minister and a Congress vice president were beneficiaries of the bribes paid in the VVIP chopper deal, reports PTI.
�In a posting on the website of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) on February 14, a reference was made in Point 32 from the Director of Income Tax that kickbacks were paid to middlemen in the chopper deal.
�After accepting this, the government is now trying to find out who were paid bribes. The name of family members of a former Union Minister and a close associate of a Congress vice-president are coming up,� BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy told reporters.
He insisted that the Congress should come out with a clarification on these allegations. �We will raise this issue strongly in Parliament,� Rudy said.
When asked if the BJP wanted the Rs 3,600-crore deal to be scrapped, the BJP MP said it is �inconsequential� and the main issue is to find out who were paid the kickbacks.
BJP also attacked Defence Minister A K Antony.
�This is a monumental scam in which kickbacks of Rs 360 crore were paid. Antony is now giving several orders and statements and is struggling to keep his �Mr Clean� image. But the fact remains that he has been Defence Minister since October 24, 2006,� Rudy said.
The main Opposition claimed that prosecutors in Italy have pointed out that bribes of Rs 360 crore were paid and the beneficiaries include people in India.
Rudy said when BJP MP Prakash Javadekar had posed a question to Antony in Rajya Sabha in December, the minister had maintained that there is no proof of any kickbacks.
