Chopper deal: Swamy faces Cong ire over documents

The Congress MPs wanted to know how he got access to sensitive and secret files of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and whether he had authenticated the documents quoted by him.

Deputy leader of Congress Anand Sharma raised a point of order, saying sensitive documents of the CBI and the ED had been referred to when Swamy spoke in the House on Wednesday. The House “must know how an honourable member or rather less honourable member” was given access to sensitive and secret files, which he has refused to authenticate and place on the table of the House, he said.

Deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha, PJ Kurien, said the Rule will take its own course if Swamy had not complied with his ruling that all documents he was quoting must be authenticated by him and placed on the table of the House. “It (the ruling) has to be complied with... That has to be complied with,” Kurien said.

As Congress members protested, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said Swamy had authenticated and placed on the table of the House the documents he had quoted. 

Swamy has taken care of the issue, he said.

Later, another Congress member Jairam Ramesh wanted to know whether the documents, which were quoted by Swamy to target the Opposition party, were authenticated or not. “Yesterday, you had asked a member of the House to authenticate documents. Have all those documents been authenticated and made available to the House? Have all those authenticated documents been submitted to the House,” he asked the Deputy Chairman.

Ramesh alleged that the member was making “innuendos” on the basis of those papers. Kurien said he will get it examined. Ramesh, however, persisted asking, “How much time it will take? You say you will expunge (unparliamentary comments) but can you expunge them from YouTube, from the live television? He has not authenticated till now.” Kurien said he will ask the Rajya Sabha Secretary General to put up a note in this regard.

Swamy, a newly-nominated member, had on Thursday said he was quoting Italian court’s documents to allege that a bribe of 30 million euros was paid in the Rs 3,600-crore deal for 12 VVIP choppers. 

Out of this, 6 million euros went to Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel, 8.4 million euros to bureaucrats and Rs 125 crore to ‘AP’, Swamy had claimed.

Congress members had insisted then on authentication of whatever he was reading from.

He replied that he was reading from the same note that Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi read from and that if he were to authenticate, then Singhvi also should do so as there cannot be separate rules for different people.

In the midst of exchanges, Kurien had said both will have to authenticate.