Narendra Modi, his govt protecting AgustaWestland for last two years: Congress

New Delhi: Hitting back at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper bribery row, the Congress on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of protecting the defence firm in question.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said the Prime Minister has been protecting the UK-based subsidiary of Italian conglomerate Finmeccanica ever since he came to power.

“Why is Modi government protecting bribe-giving company AgustaWestland? Why it did not do anything for two years when CBI was conducting inquiry?” Surjewala asked.

“Actually the only person who has been protecting AgustaWestland is the Narendra Modi government for the last two years,” he added.

The Congress spokesperson stated that the NDA government had sanctioned Foreign Investment Promotion Board's (FIPB) permission on October 8, 2015 to the Indian Rotorcraft Company, which is a partnership between the Tatas and AgustaWestland.

“Will the Defence Minister answer on this?” Surjewala asked.