Congress rattled after Christian Michel's extradition, sends team to defend him: BJP

Party spokesperson Sambit Patra said Congress leaders are having sleepless nights since the alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland chopper scam was extradited to India.

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New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday accused Congress of being rattled since the extradition of Christian Michel's extradition to India. Michel is the alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland chopper scam which occurred during the UPA regime.

At a press conference, party spokesperson Sambit Patra questioned why Congress is - apparently - sending a team to defend someone accused of accepting kickbacks in a defence deal. "Congress leaders have been looking sad and demoralised since Christian Michel was brought back to India. It is clear that Congress is rattled," he said. "The party even sent its team to save Michel. Congress's Aljo Joseph appeared for him in Court, they later went through the charade of removing him. The family in Congress is getting sleepless nights."

Joseph appeared in a Delhi court on Wednesday for Michel in a move that caused major embarrassment for Congress. The Indian Youth Congress expelled Joseph while party spokesperson Amrish Ranjan Pandey said that Joseph appeared for Michel in his “personal capacity”. This despite Joseph saying he had appeared in his "professional capacity."

The BJP now has seized on the opportunity to slam Congress and claim that many big leaders could be named by Michel during interrogation by CBI. "Congress is sending a message to CBI that it stands rock solid behind Christian Michel. It is threatening institutions. The move to send lawyers to save him is a calculated move," said Patra.