A corruption scandal that ostensibly involves, among others, a former Indian prime minister, the current leader of India’s opposition Congress party, a former Indian Air Force chief and 12 luxury helicopters, has halted parliamentary business in the world’s largest democracy.
The trigger for the renewed focus on the $750 million (Dh2.75 trillion) AgustaWestland scam in India was a recent judgement by a Milan court, which sentenced the former chief executive of Italian defence and aerospace major, Finmeccanica, on corruption charges over the attempted sale of the 12 helicopters to the Manmohan Singh-led government in 2010. However, the underlying issues that have emerged amid the sound and fury over the scam are a sad reminder that no matter who benefitted from the scandal, the ultimate loser will be the Indian public. In stalling parliament and deciding to prioritise its attacks on opposition leader Sonia Gandhi, the government has shown scant regard for conducting serious legislative business, at a time when the entire global attention is focused on the passage of critical bills such as the goods and services tax and the bankruptcy law.
The timing of the government’s decision to speed up investigation into the scam also raises questions about its real intent — specially since it follows the Narendra Modi-led Cabinet’s attempt to impose President’s Rule in the Congress-ruled state of Uttarakhand. The political opportunism notwithstanding, it is absolutely critical that rigorous and unbiased investigation into the scandal continues till the guilty are charged and sentenced. Indian taxpayers foot the bill for the billions of dollars of defence budget outlay every year and they surely deserve more than a continuing political slugfest. The AgustaWestland scam therefore presents a great opportunity for India to uproot the corrupt nexus between dubious middlemen and the defence establishment, but only if pursued with the right intent and not for political vendetta.
