Mangalore : Former Union Minister Janardhan Poojary speaking at the press meet held at press club on Jan 10, Monday, said that L. K. Advani, the former deputy prime minister, delivered the statement that Congress leader Sonia Gandhi is associated with Ottavio Quattrocchi, an Italian businessman, who stands accused of being involved in the Bofors scandal.
Poojary alleged that T. N. Chaturvedi, the formal comptroller and auditor general, manipulated a CAG report on the Bofors scam against Rajiv Gandhi and others. Chaturvedi later became the member of the Rajya Sabha and subsequently was made the governor of Karnataka by the then national democratic alliance (NDA) government led by A. B. Vajpayee. Poojary says that, Advani might have influenced T. N. Chaturvedi to prepare the report.
He also said that government did not suffer a loss due to Bofors deal, but instead Rajiv Gandhi government worked hard to decrease the deal amount from Rs. 1,480 crore to Rs. 210 crore. He also said that the “Shoot and Scoot” gun could be purchased at affordable rates for the first time in India during Rajiv Gandhi’s rule and that this helped India win the Kargil war.
Poojary said that Advani is fooling people by claiming that Rs. 300 lakh is in the Swiss bank, but this is mere imagination by him. The Congress has requested its corrupt ministers to quit their posts and if BJP have moral value they must speak against B. S. Yeddyurappa.
Congress leaders Harikrishna Bantwal, Vijay Kumar Shetty, Tharanatha Kallige, and others were present.