Bofors Guns Still Smoking

The smoking gun, despite having been silenced, continues to vent smoke. The Bofors kickback scandal that brought down the Rajiv Gandhi government in 1989 is back in discussion with Chitra Subramaniam, the journalist who authored a series of exposés on the corruption case, coming out with a book on the news reports that defined her career. Her claim that Bofors papers detailing Swiss bank accounts that received kickbacks returned to India in 1997 were never opened seems doubtful going by contemporary reports. But the book has refreshed memories about how the investigation into the Bofors scandal was repeatedly thwarted by Congress governments over the years. The final blow came when the Congress-led UPA assumed office in 2004. One of the first actions it took was to move to de-freeze the London accounts of Gandhi family confidant Ottavio Quattrochi that had €3 million and $1 million and which CBI suspected to be part of the `64 crore kickbacks for the Bofors howitzer deal. CBI had made progress in the case but was instructed to perform a complete U-turn after Congress won the election. CBI informed the British authorities that it was no longer sure of the link between the money and the Bofors case. Quattrocchi got the money and remained out of reach of the law except when he received a scare after being detained at a small airport in Argentina due to a pending Red Corner Notice. Needless to say, his powerful patrons in Delhi ensured the Indian government made no demand for his custody, allowing the Italian businessman to be released after a few days.

BJP’s Delhi Fallout

BJP functionaries in Delhi confess to a feeling of emptiness after the state election results. For as long as they could remember, their days began with decoding AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal’s moves, including the allegations he regularly levelled against the Centre and the lieutenant governor. The odds were stacked against the opposition with AAP’s generous advertising policy helping ensure prominent space for the party in news columns. BJP leaders found it hard to get a few words in, with party press conferences covered desultorily. Even when things improved as the 2025 election approached, media reportage was mostly a reproduction of rival claims. BJP cadres are getting used to the new circumstances where the party will need to implement promises even as details of AAP government’s poor record become public.

Cold War in Maharashtra

The decision of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to review some of the contracts awarded when ally Shiv Sena headed the state government are being seen as a ‘cold’ war with former Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. One of the decisions being reconsidered is a tender running into thousands of crores which is suspected to be overpriced. Fadnavis is aware that BJP will bear the brunt of any scandal relating to the previous Sena-BJP-NCP government. A tri-party alliance is in power but it will be a ‘BJP government’ in terms of governance rather than one that looks the other way at what allies might be doing.

Being Hindu in Congress

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar was again in the news. This time he was the target of attacks from within Congress for attending a function organised by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev on the occasion of Mahashivratri in Coimbatore. While he defended his attendance, it was noticeable that there was no intervention by the party high command. The leader is now attempting to strike aggressive postures against BJP over issues such as likely delimitation to ‘prove’ he has not become a Hindutva advocate.

Rekha Bides Her Time

There has been a flood of requests for interviews and profiles since Rekha Gupta became Delhi’s chief minister instead of other more storied candidates. The chief minister, however, decided that media interactions could wait until the agenda of the new government got moving. The launch of the 2,500 a month stipend for eligible women on March 8 was one such initiative she was keen on despite discovering that Delhi’s finances are not in the pink of health. Gupta decided that the Mahila Samriddhi Yojana will be implemented to show that BJP will act on its promise while AAP failed to roll out a similar scheme.

Tango with the EU

The turbulence in US-Europe relations due to the return of Donald Trump appears to be a reason for a high-power European Union (EU) delegation visiting India last week. The EU exhibited a sense of urgency on long-running talks on an FTA with India. It is understood that the view in government is that the EU’s current stance offers an opportunity to find a way round non-trade issues that have held up talks in the past. At a time when India is facing pressures to reduce tariffs, moving on an agreement with the EU makes a lot of sense even as trade discussions with the US are due to get underway.

Arvind KejriwalBoforsChitra SubramaniamDelhi CM Rekha GuptaNational PoliticsRajeev Gandhi