The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : Bofors case

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Friday, Jun 03, 2005

Opinion

Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Bofors case

The quashing of charges by the Delhi High Court against the Hinduja brothers and A.B. Bofors bares the inept handling of the payoffs case by the CBI. The credibility of the investigating agency has taken a further nosedive. It is a pity that it could not produce original documents or their authenticated copies even after 14 years of pursuing the case.

D. Manikyala Rao,
Gudivada, A.P.

* * *

With the verdict, the issue that rocked the political scene for two decades has taken a back seat. The blame lies with all the political parties which have been in power. The Bofors issue was never addressed seriously except during election campaigns. Though many of the accused are no more, their image has been tarnished unnecessarily, as we have failed to prove that they were wrong.

C. Satheesh,
Ahmedabad

* * *

The court has rapped the CBI for not producing the relevant documents. Its autonomy, at the best of times, is more apparent than real. In the Bofors case, not only did the Centre, when led by the Congress, not extend wholehearted help, the Swedish Government also was not forthcoming in divulging details.

M.K.D. Prasada Rao,
Ghaziabad, U.P.

* * *

The judge, while quashing the charges against the accused, pulled up the CBI for wasting Rs. 250 crore on the investigation for 14 years. That the prosecution of a case involving an alleged payoff of Rs. 64 crore cost the exchequer Rs. 250 crore and ruined the reputation and careers of the accused is ironical. It is also shocking that a case, filed by the highest detective agency with enormous powers, could not stand the scrutiny of law.

A.V.A. Eswaran,
New Delhi

* * *

This refers to the demand by Jayanthi Natarajan, Congress spokesperson, that all the parties which vilified Rajiv Gandhi tender an open apology. The court has not exonerated any of the accused. It is well known that the CBI can hardly function independently. If anybody should apologise, it is the CBI for the loss of time and money and for its buckling under political pressure.

Hilda Raja,
Chennai

* * *

The Congress, quick to seek an apology, should explain two things: how did Ottavio Quattrocchi leave India in 1993 (under Congress rule) when he came to know that the CBI was investigating his role in the case? And what about the charge that Madhavsinh Solanki as External Affairs Minister in the Narasimha Rao Cabinet, delivered a letter to his Swiss counterpart seeking the slowing down of investigations in 1992? Maybe, it is the Congress that should apologise to the nation.

Brig. (retd.) V.R.P. Sarathy,
Chennai

* * *

So Bofors has become one more addition to the number of cases in which the CBI could not get a conviction. But then all are equal in the eyes of the CBI. It extends its inefficiency in equal proportions.

H.N.M. Prasad,
Hyderabad

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