Gujral in discomfort over Sonia's likely interrogation on Bofors

George Iype in New Delhi

More than three months after the Swiss government handed over the secret Bofors papers to India Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral is in a fix over a few issues that the Central Bureau of Investigation has raised.

Gujral's immediate worry is a letter written by CBI Director Joginder Singh to Cabinet Secretary T S R Subramaniam asking for 15 classified defence files.

These files deal with crucial details on the US $ 1.3 billion howitzer gun scandal. The CBI has claimed that its investigation into the controversial deal cannot be completed unless the defence ministry hands over the 15 files to the agency immediately.

'The contents of these files need to be used in the chargesheet to prove the allegations of corruption and cover-up,' Singh's letter stated.

The Cabinet secretary has directed Singh's request to the prime minister's office, but Gujral has not yet responded to the letter as yet.

The country's apex investigating agency is already under fire from Opposition parties for not filing chargesheets against the alleged recipients of bribes from the Swedish arms manufacturer A B Bofors. The CBI had set April 30, as the date for completing its investigation.

Thus, if the prime minister delays furnishing the defence ministry files on the Bofors deal, it will kick up another political controversy with Gujral accused of protecting the guilty.

The defence ministry angle of the Bofors case is not the only sensitive issue that the prime minister is worried about. He is likely to be attacked by Congress leaders if the CBI goes ahead and questions Sonia Gandhi, former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's widow.

The CBI has not yet revealed whether Gandhi's name figures in the Bofors case or not. But the agency plans to interrogate Sonia Gandhi on the role played by Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi.

CBI sources said the need to quiz Sonia has been compelled by the detailed questioning of former minister Arun Nehru. In his confessions before the CBI in March, he revealed that Quattrocchi influenced Rajiv to clinch the deal with the Swedish arms manufacturer.

A CBI officer told Rediff On The NeT that the agency will question Sonia on her connections with Quattrocchi. "The probe into the Bofors case cannot be complete without Sonia's confessions," he said. "There is nothing sensational and extraordinary in interrogating Sonia."

According to the CBI official, the Special Investigation Team probing the scandal has questioned a number of former army generals, politicians and former Rajiv Gandhi aides "Therefore, we cannot exclude Sonia from the interrogation list," he said.

After its two-month-long interrogation of Rajiv aides like Gopi Arora and Sarla Grewal, the CBI is veering around to the view that Rajiv may not have been an actual recipient of the kickbacks but he was definitely involved in attempts to cover-up the bribery angle of the Bofors scandal.

If the CBI questions Sonia, Congress leaders are expected to rise in unison to accuse the Gujral government of pursuing the 'witch-hunt' allegedly initiated by his predecessor H D Deve Gowda.

Not many senior CBI officers are keen to question Sonia for fear of political harassment later. Three weeks ago, L Revanasiddiah, who headed the SIT , relinquished charge and took up an assignment as Bangalore's police commissioner.

Two senior joint directors in the agency -- B R Dubey and G Achari --- have turned down the CBI chief's request to head the SIT.

The CBI has also not completed the procedure for sending letters rogatories to a number of tax havens like Panama, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man where the payoff money travelled from the Swiss bank accounts.