Congress not to relent

New Delhi, December 12, 2001.
The Congress today indicated that it would not budge from the demand for resignation of Defence Minister George Fernandes and would work in close coordination with other Opposition parties on the issue.

Congress chief spokesman Jaipal Reddy said the issue of caskets purchased for the Kargil martyrs was only the tip of the iceberg and the CAG report had pointed to several other anomalies in contracts which had been approved by the Defence Minister.

Asked why the Congress was not responding to the government offer for debate on the CAG issue, Mr Reddy said the party wanted deterrent political action. “The minimum we are seeking is resignation of Mr Fernandes,” the spokesman said.

Asserting that the CAG report was a ringing indictment of the Vajpayee government, the Congress spokesman also took exception to the manner in which Law Minister Arun Jaitley was “trying to rubbish the report of the CAG either by implication or through insinuation.”

“The CAG report was well-considered and had taken into consideration all replies of the Defence Ministry,’’ the spokesman said.

He said 129 contracts worth Rs 2,175.40 crore were signed for Operation Vijay of which contracts worth Rs 1,606 crore were concluded after the Kargil war was over.

Admitting that defence procurement procedures were simplified in placing orders while a war was being fought, Mr Reddy wondered why the procurement procedures continued to be relaxed after the war was over. “Contracts worth 75 per cent of the total value were made after the war was over,” Mr Reddy said, adding that there was no justification for simplification of procedures after the war was over.

Mr Reddy said irregularities were not with regard to a contract. “The ammunition for T-72 tanks was also delivered after the war and the order was approved by the Defence Minister,” he said.

Quoting from the CAG report, Mr Reddy said the Defence Minister approved in June 99 import of 26,000 rounds of ammunition for T-72 tanks. “This ammunition worth Rs 116.83 crore was patently unnecessary as even a layman knows that T-72 tanks would not be deployed in Kargil,” Mr Reddy said.

He pointed out that the Chief Controller of R&D had pointed out that the DRDO could supply the T-72 ammunition but it was ultimately imported from Israel ignoring an offer from Russia from flimsy grounds. Drawing a comparison with the Tehelka expose, Mr Reddy said the Barak missile figuring in the expose was also purchased from Israel.