The Hindu : National : Vague insinuations, says Jethmalani

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Friday, Apr 09, 2004

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National

Vague insinuations, says Jethmalani

By Our Special Correspondent

The former Union Law Minister, Ram Jethmalani, addressing a press conference on a report published in a newspaper on Bofors, in New Delhi on Thursday. — Photo: S. Arneja

NEW DELHI. APRIL 8. The former Union Law Minister, Ram Jethmalani, today described the latest Bofors "revelations" as "politically motivated, full of vague insinuations and devoid of truth". He expressed surprise that the same people who had raised the foreign origin issue were willing to take at face value the allegations made by a Swedish police officer despite the judgment of the Delhi High Court and inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

A trenchant critic of the Congress for most of his life, Mr. Jethmalani today came out battling for the Gandhi family. "This Government tried its best to bring charges of corruption against Rajiv Gandhi and his family, but the Delhi High Court quashed that charge and there has been no appeal against that judgment," he said.

Mr. Jethmalani saw an obvious link between the timing of the new report and the elections. "The timing proves that the report is politically motivated. They want to damage the Congress and the Gandhi family. Now that the foreign origin issue has failed to cut ice with the people, they are raking up this issue." He alleged that the Swedish police officer, Sten Lindstorm, was a friend of the Union Defence Minister, George Fernandes. "I know that they have met on several occasions."

He also saw little merit in the suggestion that the Congres president, Sonia Gandhi, should be questioned in the matter. "What is the basis on which Ms. Gandhi should be interrogated, she has nothing to do with the matter; she was not even a public servant," he said. The demand for her questioning was being made to "pin her down" on the eve of the elections. The investigation was started by the V.P. Singh Government and the chargesheet was filed under the Vajpayee Government. "If they had something on her, why was she not questioned then," he asked.

Though Mr. Jethmalani gave the former Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, a clean chit, he said he had initially erred by trying to stall an investigation into the case. "He was an innocent young man, and was ill-advised by the people around him and that brought him under suspicion," he said. "If you really want to know the truth, interrogate Arun Nehru."

Mr. Nehru, a distant relative of the Gandhi family, was a Minister in the Rajiv Gandhi Government.

Mr. Jethmalani regretted that despite the Delhi High Court's judgment certain people continued to rake up the Bofors issue. The charges made in the news report were inadmissible in a court of law. "It is full of vague insinuations, and the [Swedish] police officer himself admits that it cannot be proved in a court of law," he said.

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