BJP MP Nishikant Dubey has alleged that Rajiv Gandhi was a middleman in a fighter jet deal in the 1970s. He also accused Indira Gandhi of interference, citing a WikiLeaks report.
New Delhi: BJP MP Nishikant Dubey has made a serious allegation that former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi played the role of a middleman in a fighter jet deal in the 1970s. He also accused Indira Gandhi of interfering in defense deals. Dubey questioned why the then UPA government did not take any action despite these allegations surfacing in 2013, calling it a major question.
Citing WikiLeaks Report
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey made this claim based on an old WikiLeaks disclosure. He said that the WikiLeaks report revealed that in 1975, a Swedish diplomatic report stated that Rajiv Gandhi, the son of then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, was involved as a middleman in a fighter jet deal between India and Sweden.
In his social media post, Dubey wrote that the Swedish company Saab-Scania wanted to sell "Viggen fighter jets" to India. During the same period, Rajiv Gandhi was playing the role of a mediator in this deal.
'Indira Gandhi's interference had crossed limits'
Nishikant Dubey alleged that Indira Gandhi was not only interfering in that deal but had also started giving "excessive interference" in defense deals. He said that this matter was related not only to politics but also to national security.
Dubey also questioned that when the WikiLeaks report came to light in 2013, the Congress-led UPA government was in power in the country. Despite this, why did the then Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh's government ignore this report?
'Why didn't Congress investigate?'
Dubey wrote in the post, "When these revelations were made in 2013, Congress was in power. If this report was wrong, why didn't the Congress refute it? And if it was correct, why didn't action take place?" He termed the silence of the Congress as 'suspicious'.
The BJP MP further wrote, "Even a person like Manmohan Singh, who is considered honest himself, did not say anything on this issue. No clarification was sought from the American or Swedish governments. If the Congress has an answer to this, it must tell the country."
What did WikiLeaks claim?
According to WikiLeaks, on October 21, 1975, a Swedish diplomat informed the US government that Rajiv Gandhi, the son of the then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, was acting as a mediator in that deal. This deal was regarding the purchase of Viggen fighter jets from Sweden's renowned aerospace company "Saab-Scania."
This document of WikiLeaks was classified as "Sensitive," and the information sent to the US State Department stated that Rajiv Gandhi had used his political influence to help move the deal forward.
