NEW DELHI: The former Defence Minister, George Fernandes, said here on Sunday that the National Democratic Alliance would use every forum to "nail the corrupt clique" behind the Scorpene submarine deal.

Refusing to apologise as demanded by Abhishek Verma through his lawyer and being threatened with a defamation suit, Mr. Fernandes said in a statement that "those who know me and my public life spanning nearly 50 years, know that George Fernandes has never apologised for raising his voice against the corrupt deeds of the Congress Governments. As far as tendering an apology, the question does not arise."

Mr. Fernandes said that he had received a letter from Mr. Verma's lawyer. Mr. Verma, he alleged, was the main suspect in the twin Scorpene scandals, the war room leak and the political kickbacks running into hundreds of crores.

"I have been asked to tender a public apology for demanding a comprehensive inquiry into the twin scandals, including the role of Mr. Verma and his associates," the statement said.

"Guilty silence"

Mr. Fernandes sought to know why the United Progressive Alliance Government was maintaining a "guilty silence" over why it did not act on the alleged money trail between Thales (the French company that makes the submarines) and Mr. Verma.

He said both Thales and Mr. Verma have claimed that the e-mails exchanged between them were fabricated but asked why the Government was accepting the claims of the accused at face value instead of probing it.

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