Author: Yogesh Vajpeyi
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: February 28, 2007
PM made statement on 'Q' outside Parliament
In a belated damage control exercise, the
Government on Tuesday went on an overdrive to show that the CBI was "diligently"
preparing for extradition of Bofors case accused Ottavio Quattrocchi, but
failed to explain why it "concealed" information about his detention
in Argentina on February 6 for so long.
The Government's obduracy only strengthened
principal Opposition BJP's resolve to step up its offensive. It would now
press for the Prime Minister's resignation on the issue and is mulling over
moving a privilege motion against him for making a statement on Quattrocchi
outside Parliament, and not in the House.
Significantly, the statement tabled by the
Government in Parliament during the day amidst boisterous protests from the
Opposition was silent on the inordinate delay in sharing the information with
the nation.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who ignored
the Opposition's demand to explain the delay in the House, ducked the question
in his informal interaction with the media outside Parliament and merely insisted
that his Government had done nothing wrong in handling the Quattrocchi case.
With no credible defence against the Opposition
charge of cover-up, the Government fielded Union Minister Kapil Sibal to use
his advocacy skills at a Press conference.
But instead of explaining why the CBI did
not disclose the news till February 23, the senior Supreme Court lawyer brazenly
asserted that the Government was under no obligation to share the information
with anyone.
"Thousands of such informations about
accused persons come to us. There is no legal binding on the Government to
inform the people," Sibal told mediapersons.
The Government's doggedness has prompted the
BJP and its allies to launch a coordinated offensive against it during the
Budget Session of Parliament. While the Opposition would allow the Union Budget
to be tabled on Wednesday, it would stall all other work till the Government
answers its apprehensions about its sincerity to bring Quattrocchi to book.
"We will demand the Prime Minister's
resignation. He made a statement on Quattrocchi outside Parliament on Tuesday,
but not within the House, a demand we have been making since day one. It is
an insult to the House," said BJP parliamentary party spokesman VK Malhotra.
Dismissing the Government's statement, Leader
of the Opposition LK Advani said, it did not "at all explain why the
information which should have made the CBI exult with joy was suppressed".
He also noted that the Government's statement
did not mention the recent visit of Quattrocchi's son to India. "This
only shows what position Quattrocchi and his family have in this setup,"
Advani remarked.
The BJP veteran alleged that the Government
wanted the Bofors suspect to be off the hook to please his political patrons
and cited his release on bail on February 23 as evidence of this.
"It is the duty of a country to go and
oppose the bail of an offender in which it is interested. There is a Red Corner
Notice against Dawood Ibrahim also. What should be our approach if he is apprehended?"
he asked, adding that
Quattrocchi had been detained not because
of the CBI, but in spite of the Government of India wanting him to be off
the hook.
Significantly, the Government's statement
in Parliament admitted that the CBI had been informed about Quattrocchi's
detention by Interpol (IP) Buenos Aires on February 7.
On CBI's request to confirm the veracity of
its message, IP Buenos Aires not only verified this information the next day
but also asked whether India was interested in his arrest and extradition.
It also informed the CBI in detail about the process for extradition on February
8 itself.
However, the CBI asked the Ministry of External
Affairs in New Delhi and IP Buenos Aires for a copy of the Argentina Extradition
guidance only on February 13.
The draft extradition request prepared by
the CBI was discussed at a meeting with officers of the Legal and Treaty division
of the MEA on February 22, a day before the news of Quattrocchi's detention
in Argentina broke out despite the Government's efforts to keep the lid on
it.
It was only on February 24, after the Opposition
made a hue and cry that the CBI took the first legal step for Quattrocchi's
extradition by getting a fresh warrant of arrest against him from the court
of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Delhi.
Acting as the Government's spokesman on the
issue, Sibal sought to interpret the sequence of events as proof of the CBI's
diligence in the matter.
But instead of answering questions about the
reasons for the agency's and the Government's undue secrecy, he harped on
how the previous NDA Government had failed to obtain Quattrocchi's extradition
from Malaysia in 1999.