WikiLeaks report on Rajiv Gandhi baseless: Congress

Zeenews Bureau

New Delhi: Congress on Monday rubbished the latest WikiLeaks revelations from US Embassy cables that said that former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi possibly acted as an arms agent for a deal related to the sale of Swedish jets. Addressing reporters in the national capital, Congress chief spokesperson Janardan Dwivedi said, “There are no grounds for WikiLeaks story. The allegations made are totally baseless and unfounded.” The Congress leader was also critical of media houses which carried the reports and said, “It is sad that a section of credible media is raising questions about Gandhi family.” Hitting out at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Dwivedi questioned the main opposition party’s motive and said that the BJP leaders should consider where they want to take Indian politics. Raising questions on BJP’s history of changing stand on issues, the Congress spokesperson said that the grand old party isn’t like the main Opposition party. A report published by a leading daily ‘The Hindu’ on WikiLeaks expose of US diplomatic cables relating to “the Henry Kissinger era” claimed that Rajiv Gandhi could have been a middleman for the Swedish company Saab-Scania, when it was trying to sell its Viggen fighter aircraft to India in the 1970s. This was several months before Rajiv Gandhi became Prime Minister, then a pilot with the Indian Airlines. This shocking revelation is contained in the Kissinger era Cables claims that he was the “main Indian negotiator” for a massive aircraft deal for which his “family” connections were seen as valuable. The allegation against Rajiv Gandhi as an arms agent relates to the mid 1970s. This is arguably the most sensational of the claims relating to Rajiv Gandhi. However, there is no independent confirmation or denial of the claim that the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s son, who was then a pilot with Indian Airlines, did in fact negotiate on behalf of the Swedish company Saab-Scania, which was looking to sell 50 Viggen fighter aircraft to India. The very cable that mentions Rajiv Gandhi as an “entrepreneur” also states explicitly that US officials have “no additional information to either refute or confirm the above information.”